Abstract
Ethical concerns have always been central to Judaism and have been understood within the broad context of Jewish life. Ethical teachings have been expressed both in the form of halakhah, normative requirements, and aggadah, inspirational narrative. Jewish Scripture is the Hebrew Bible, also known as Tanakh or Old Testament. Judaism also values the traditional “Oral Torah,” expressed in works such as the Talmud. There is no central Jewish authority; contemporary streams of Judaism include Orthodox, Conservative (or Masorti), and Reform (or Progressive). Judaism shares important values with the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, including the intrinsic dignity and value of each individual, life, healing, equality, justice, and pluralism. Judaism’s commitment to life and healing supports the provision of medical treatment, though many authorities say that treatment may be forgone if it merely prolongs the dying process, if it would not benefit the patient, or if it does not offer hope for cure. The life of a fetus or unborn child has value and deserves respect but is of lower status than that of a woman. Abortion is clearly warranted to save the life of a pregnant woman; many would allow this to protect the woman’s health or save her from suffering. Both individuals and communities are responsible to help provide needed health care.
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Notes
- 1.
Passages from the Mishnah traditionally are identified by the name of the tractate, followed by the number of the chapter and paragraph within the chapter; e.g., Sanhedrin 4:5. References to the Talmud are given by the name of the tractate and the page on which the reference may be found (e.g., Sanhedrin 37a).
- 2.
References to the Shulhan Arukh are given by the name of the section (or its abbreviation), followed by chapter number and paragraph within the chapter (e.g., Yoreh Deah [Y.D.] 339:1).
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Mackler, A.L. (2014). Judaism. In: ten Have, H., Gordijn, B. (eds) Handbook of Global Bioethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2512-6_92
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