© Alamy

What is the role of religion if humans have the technology to replace body parts with artificial ones, test for and terminate problematic pregnancies and choose when to die? We tackle these contentious topics and more in our six-week series about medical ethics viewed through a Jewish cultural and traditional lens. This is the second series under our new partnership with Jewish Renaissance.

Should the choice to die be our own? The proposed Assisted Dying Bill currently being debated in the House of Lords has thrown up a flurry of ethical questions, but how should Jews be responding to it? The former Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism, Rabbi Danny Rich, gave both oral and written evidence to the Falconer Commission on assisted dying. As a communal rabbi of an Orthodox synagogue and the author of Divine Command Ethics, Rabbi Dr Michael Harris finds it both a pragmatic and philosophical issue, while for Dr Harrie Cedar end of life discussions are part of her daily work as healthcare chaplain at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, and she has been involved with the establishment of post-graduate healthcare chaplaincy training to meet NHS standards of care. They come together in this session to explore the reality of euthanasia in relation to Jewish beliefs surrounding the preservation of life, end of life, burial and mourning.

For more information and to book:

https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/events/jewish-medical-ethics