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.

Eugenics has long been a dirty word, most searingly associated in the public conscious with Nazi ideologies of World War II, but the ethical complexities haven’t stood in the way of science. Studies in gene editing have continued as a way of understanding and screening for certain diseases. Since the beginning of in-utero testing for serious genetic diseases that are prevalent in the Jewish community (Jnetics currently offer screening for 47 different disorders), an increasing number of parents have opted to terminate those pregnancies, but how does this development correspond with traditional Jewish lore? Dr Juliette Harris, specialist genetic counsellor at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, and Rabbi Daniel Eisenberg, a special education teacher at SINAI Schools in New Jersey, join us to discuss this contentious topic. Hosted in association with Jnetics.

For more information and to book:

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

Images clockwise from top: The Sakol Family @JNetics; Rabbi Daniel Eisenberg; Dr Juliette Harris