Puah for Fertility and RABBI GIDEON Machon Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha WEITZMAN
A Short Life
W
e continue our discussion on experimental and unproven medication and medical procedures. What is the halacha regarding a completely experimental drug for which there is no proof that it helps, other than the developer’s claim that it works? While we differentiated between proven and experimental drugs, this is only when they involve a prohibition, such as containing a non-kosher ingredient. But if there is no prohibited ingredient, someone is permitted to take the chance that the drug will heal them. The source for this is the Gemara (Avodah Zara 27b) regarding the permissibility of going to a gentile doctor. Today, we sometimes ask whether a non-Jewish
doctor is trustworthy in relation to halachic questions. For example, can we rely on a non-Jewish doctor who tells someone they have to eat on Yom Kippur? In the past the problem of gentile doctors was different; there was a real threat that the doctor would kill their Jewish patient. While we can argue as to how serious this threat was, this was a major concern in Talmudic times and the rabbis questioned whether it was permitted to go to a nonJewish doctor.
In any case he is going to die, then he is permitted to be treated by the gentile doctor The rabbis said “if it is a doubt whether he will live or die, one cannot go be healed by them, but if he would definitely die then one can be healed by them”. Rashi
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