c. 1998 Religion News Service

PHILADELPHIA _ Specters of genetic and biological blame _ from the 14th-century bubonic plague to the 20th-century Holocaust _ should make Jews”a tad nervous”about the increasing popularity of genetic testing, says Laurie Zolath-Dorfman, an associated professor of social ethics and Jewish studies at San Francisco State University.”In the 14th century, people thought Jews caused bubonic plague, just as gays were blamed for the AIDS epidemic,”she added.”This, plus the role that eugenics played in the Holocaust, should alert us to the history of this issue.” Zolath-Dorfman cited these examples at a recent two-day international conference called”Jewish Bioethics at the Crossroads.”The May 3-4 event, billed as the first of its kind, was designed to”explore Jewish bioethics at the turn of the secular century.” Ethicists, physicians and rabbis from all branches of Judaism dealt with some of contemporary life’s most morally complex issues _ from organ transplants and genetic testing to assisted suicide.

But mostly they spent a lot of time outlining what religion brings to the ethical debates on scientific issues.

While the conferees were unanimous in stressing that religious people shouldn’t impose their faith on others and that Jews have a wide variety of perspectives on bioethical issues, they also were agreed that Judaism has much to contribute toward helping society create public policy around bioethics issues.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C., told participants that”religious rhetoric”can be a powerful force in the free market place of ideas.”In American democracy, Jewish tradition, while not binding, is morally persuasive,”he said.”Jewish beliefs _ in the dignity of every human being, in the sanctity of life _ are universal values that have much to offer a non-Jewish world.” Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics, said it was precisely because of those universal values that he became an ethicist.”When I was young, I felt an empathy for those who are vulnerable,”he said.”I believe bioethics must ensure that their voices are heard.”And, he added, the Jewish tradition of”studying the Bible, the Talmud and other commentaries on Jewish law”have much to contribute. “In Hebrew school, I often thought what the rabbis were teaching us was stupid,”Caplan said.”Like any boy, I soon left Hebrew school behind for football.” But, he said, the rabbis”encouraged us to question authority _ to debate Jewish law on a case-by-case basis. As a Jew, I bring this perspective to bioethics. It’s important for ethicists to consider issues on a case-by-case basis.” In America, personal autonomy is”of great importance in making ethical decisions,”said Dr. Ronald J. Werrin, a West Chester, Pa., physician and member of a hospital ethics committee. But Werrin said”in Judaism, the sanctity of every human life takes precedence over individual freedom of choice.”Take assisted suicide,”he added.”Pulling the plug to end a patient’s life, even if that were the patient’s choice, wouldn’t be compatible with Jewish law.”Unlike Christianity, Judaism is based not on faith but on Judaic law,”he said.”As a Jew, I believe bioethics should be based on Judaic law _ not on what feels good. I think this perspective is helpful to my ethics committee.” But Elliot N. Dorff, a Conservative rabbi and professor of philosophy at the University of Judaism in Bel-Air, Calif., cautioned against searching for answers to complicated contemporary bioethics questions in ancient Jewish texts.

Dorff, who served on the Clinton’s administration Health Care Task Force, wondered”how could commentators in (historical) Jewish sources have contemplated modern health care realities?” Dorff said that while he affirmed the value of every human life, it must be asked”whether we should do all that medicine can do. Should we, for example, use respirators in end-of-life care, when this doesn’t make any sense?” And Caplan told the participants that bioethics itself”isn’t completely pure”and his colleagues, if they want to affect public policy, must learn to be”politically savvy.” The conference was sponsored by the Allegheny (Pa.) University of the Health Sciences; Center for Bioethics of the University of Pennsylvania Health System; National Museum of American Jewish History; Finklestein Institute of Jewish Theological Seminary; American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel; Center for Judaic Studies of Boston University.

DEA END WOLFE