Etalachic Fine Points

Cloning of human beings raises questions
among Jewish ethicists and leaders.

SHARON SAMBER

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

L

. ast month's U.S. House of Representative's
vote to ban all human cloning, both repro-
ductive and therapeutic, brought about var-
ied views from Jewish ethicists and leaders.
While most are in general agreement that cloning
cells to benefit medical research would be acceptable,
when it comes to duplicating a human being, there
are many halachic and ethical fine points.
Reproductive cloning is unproven, risky and repre-
sents a tragic misunderstanding of human identity,
says Laurie Zoloth, principal investigator of a grant
to facilitate discussion of the implications of
advances in genetics among Jewish scholars, ethicists
and scientists.
Who would be the parents of a cloned child and
what happens to cloning experiments that fail, asks
Zoloth, director of the Jewish Studies Program at
San Francisco State University and associate profes-
sor of social ethics and Jewish philosophy.
Some consider it immoral to make a genetic copy
of someone, while others take the view that cloning
can be a commandment, for example, if it is used to
help infertile couples.
This is the only way reproductive cloning would
be permissible, says Rabbi Herschel Finman of Oak
Park, who studied legal, medical and business ethics
according to halachah (Jewish law) at Yeshiva
College in Melbourne, Australia.
"When there comes a time that scientists know

how to clone humans suc-
cessfully, without any side
effects, nothing would be
wrong with it halachically
or ethically," he says.
"But only when the
DNA material comes
from the father and the
baby is grown in the
mother who delivers the
baby — making fertiliza-
tion as close to normal as
possible."
But "using donor DNA
Rabbi Herschel Finman
or a donor uterus is not
acceptable," he says.
Not everyone agrees.
"Cloning does not involve the union of two individ-
uals," wrote Dr. Eitan Fiorino, a pharmaceutical
industry analyst.
"It is therefore not an act of creation but rather
one of duplication and, as such, is completely at
odds with any Jewish understanding of conception."
Clones would be born from eggs stimulated to
divide after their DNA was removed and replaced
with DNA from other cells. Cells from an infertile
father, for example, could be injected into an egg,
which then would be implanted in the mother's
uterus to create a pregnancy. The resulting child
would have the same physical characteristics as the
father, and infertile parents would not have to rely
on sperm donors.

Golf And Torah

Unlikely pairing unite to raise funds for new
Chabad-Lubavitch Foundation synagogue.

D

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer

id you hear the one about the rabbi
golfing?" asks Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov.
"He may be talking about himself,
as he prepares to join The Shul's first
Friends of Torah Golf Outing, organized as a
fundraiser for his synagogue.
"This is the first time he's golfing," says his wife
Itty Shemtov. "He'll be a good sport."
The event was established to support the
Chabad-Lubavitch Foundation synagogue, whose
construction of a new building began last month.
Expected completion is July 2002 on the Campus

8/24
2001

14

of Living Judaism in West Bloomfield.
The Tuesday, Sept. 11, outing will be held at
Links of Novi golf course.
Sponsorship opportunities run from the $350
"Shekel" sponsor to the $5,000 "Megillah" spon-
sor.
"Golfers will have a chance during their rounds
to interact with rabbis or rebbitzens," says Jack
Wolfe of West Bloomfield, who, with his wife
Charlene, will chair the event.
"While they will probably know little about
how to help your golf game, you can ask them
anything about the upcoming High Holidays or
anything else about Judaism."
A program following the outing will include a

Cloning For A Cure

While Britain adopted guidelines several years al
that allow for therapeutic cloning, some, like M
Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Actio
Center of Reform Judaism, see the American leg
islative ban as a possible hindrance to advances ill
medical research.
Rabbi Michael Broyde, a law professor at Emc
University in Atlanta, also believes that cloning
can be proper — if done with appropriate super
sion.
Broyde bolsters his argument with the scenari o
of a sick person who could be cloned to insure 2
match in a bone marrow transplant.
"Jewish tradition might regard this procedure
involving two good deeds: having a child and sa
ing a life," he wrote.
Many have visceral, negative reactions to
cloning, fearing that the practice lacks a basic
humanity.
Some believe that cloning would fly in the fac
of lessons derived from the Holocaust, when Na
doctors experimented on humans in an effort tol
create a "master race." Some rabbis are particula
troubled by the notion of a human made in on e;
own image, rather than the image of God.
Britain's chief rabbi recently called planned
experiments to clone humans "a new low in pla:
ing roulette with human life." Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks said human cloning is dangerous and irre-
sponsible because of the threat it poses "to the
integrity of children so born."
"As with any medical or scientific advancemer
— if the Almighty allows us to create something
that is going to be beneficial to humankind, it
must be utilized," Rabbi Finman says. "It's no d
ferent than taking a cold tablet for a cold." ❑

— Jewish News staff writer Shelli Liebman Dorfii
contributed to this st

silent auction and a talk titled "Torah and the
of Golf Course Maintenance" by Rabbi Alon
Tolwin of Aish HaTorah of Metro Detroit.
The winning foursome wins a trip to Israel.
"The highest-scoring foursome wins a weekly
visit from Chabadnik seeking tzedakah," jokes
Wolfe. CI

The Tuesday, Sept. 11, Friends of Torah Golf
Outing will begin with registration, breakfast
and open practice range at 8:30 a.m. Golf
begins at 10:15 a.m. Golf tickets at $150,
includes kosher breakfast, lunch and dinner,
practice range, 18 holes of golf, two carts per
foursome, gift package and refreshments on
the course. Non-golfers food ticket is $75,
includes kosher breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Tournament will take place at Links of Novi,
50395 W. 10 Mile, Novi. RSVP by Monday,
Sept. 3. For more information, call Lisa at
(248) 936-6932. 7