Genetic Testing (Pre-marital Screening + BRCA)
Modern genetics has raised new Jewish ethical questions, addressed by contemporary authorities: should couples be screened before marriage for inherited diseases (as programs like Dor Yeshorim quietly do), and how should one weigh testing for cancer risk such as BRCA against worries about privacy and anxiety? The discussion balances the duty to guard life and health with caution about knowledge that cannot be undone.
Key passages(3)
Each passage is tagged by what it does with the idea: explains it, applies it in practice, redefines it with a new meaning, or challenges it. Relevance shows how directly the passage is about this idea.
Igrot Moshe · Moshe Feinstein
In Igrot Moshe Even HaEzer 4:10, R. Moshe Feinstein addresses genetic screening, ruling that pre-marital testing for serious hereditary diseases is permissible and may be ethically prudent to prevent
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Tzitz Eliezer · Eliezer Waldenberg
In Tzitz Eliezer 13:102, R. Eliezer Waldenberg addresses genetic testing within halachic frameworks, typically permitting medically prudent testing while emphasizing confidentiality concerns and the n
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Yabia Omer · Ovadia Yosef
In Yabia Omer Even HaEzer 8:9, R. Ovadia Yosef addresses premarital genetic screening, permitting testing for serious hereditary diseases to prevent births of severely ill children, balancing pikuach
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