Autopsy
Some scholars judge that
autopsy should be strictly forbidden. Jewish
law forbids the despoliation of a body once
it is deceased, to provide the body with
the utmost respect and honor. If a body undergoes
mutilating examination in an autopsy, many rabbis deem this practice makes the body impure.
Nevertheless, other rabbinic scholars argue that saving and preserving
lives is one of the highest commandments in the Torah.
If physicians can utilize a deceased body to uncover medical enigmas,
it could prevent unnecessary deaths. These rabbis argue that performing
autopsies benefit of the living.
In the early 1950s, Israeli
law bestowed upon doctors a great deal of
leeway when determining the permissibility
of performing an autopsy. However, in 1980,
many Orthodox communities in Israel were disturbed by the
abuse of autopsies being performed. These
communities had the law modified to make
performing autopsies more difficult. Unless
essential medical concern, doctors have
to receive special consent from the deceased
family to perform an autopsy. In the cases
of a homicide, autopsies are acceptable.
If an autopsy is performed, a body must
still be buried with all its parts according
to Jewish law, and within three days.
Sources: Eisenberg, Ronald L. The
JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA:
Jewish Publication Society, 2004; Kolatch,
Alfred J. The
Jewish Book of Why/The Second Jewish Book
of Why. NY: Jonathan
David Publishers, 1989. |