The Themes of "Wasting Seed" and DNA Under Jewish Law

Another interesting argument that Jewish law has not fully addressed yet is the issue of taking a person's DNA without their permission and cloning a person. DNA can be easily taken from a person without them ever realizing it. DNA comes from any cells from the human body and cells such as hair or skin fall out constantly and could be retrieved to clone a new person. The question whether this is permissible under Jewish law has been raised. Halachic authorities on Jewish law have stated that there is a belief in some sort of copyright law or personal property ruling.

Under Jewish law it is prohibited from stealing another person's belongings. Taking a person's DNA and cloning a new person could be considered the stealing of DNA since they were not aware of what was happening and is therefore prohibited under Jewish law. Furthermore, the cloned person would still be granted all of the rights and privileges of a normal human being. This case is similar to a child born from a rape victim in that the child is treated like any other person in society.

Stem cell research has a similar stance under Jewish law as therapeutic cloning although there has not been an official ruling as of yet on stem cell research from Jewish authorities. Stem cell research can be broken down into several arguments, each of which Jewish law rules upon. The first premise to understand is that many of the rulings under Jewish law for abortion apply to stem cell research. Under stem cell research, pre-embryos, or a small group of cells making the early stages of a zygote after the first couple of days of conception, are used by stem cell research centers and many of them are discarded if they are not needed for the research being done. If a person kills a fetus under Jewish law, it is not considered to be murder because the fetus is not yet considered a full human being.

Similarly, the destruction of a pre-embryo is not considered to be murder because the embryo has not been implanted in the woman and is not regarded as a fetus nor is it deemed to be a potential life. The rational argument that Jewish authorities use it that a pre-embryo that is left in a Petri-dish will die if it not cared for and put in an environment in which it can mature and survive. Thus, since the pre-embryo cannot exist by itself without the help of outside forces, it is not believed to be a potential life and its destruction is not considered to be murder. Another point of concern for stem cell research under Jewish law is the concept of "wasting seed." This concept refers to the wasting or prevention of potential human life. This reference is also found in connection to the prohibition under Jewish law against some types of contraception that "waste" sperm such as condoms. Jewish law prohibits the destruction of semen that could be used to create life. Jewish law also prohibits using semen for any purpose other than for the creation of potential life.

Consequently, the dilemma and Jewish ethical question arises out of the conflict of embryos being used to create potential life while at the same time it could be considered wasteful as many of them are being destroyed at stem cell research clinics which contain large amounts of embryos. Precedent cases under Jewish law permit semen to be expended for the purpose of analyzing it and for the process of fertility. Semen used for research can help infertile human beings procreate and fulfill God's commandment of having children and multiplying. Under Jewish law, the saving of human life trumps all other mitzvahs or commandments and using this same concept, it can be inferred that Jewish law allows for embryos to be used for research purposes so that it can save human lives.

Even if embryos are destroyed in the research process for stem cell research, they are still being destroyed with the intent on curing the sick of disease and saving human lives. One important biblical commandment which can be used to support this argument comes from Leviticus 19:16 which states, "Do not stand idly by as your neighbor's blood is being shed. This verse has been interpreted by the Talmud in Sanhedrin 73a to mean that human beings must do everything in their power through their efforts and financial resources to save a person's life. The Talmud states that every human life is precious and valuable.

The great sage Maimonides also brings up a very compelling argument concerning a person's health that he derives from the Torah in Deuteronomy 22:1-2. Maimonides quotes the biblical verse, "...and you should surely restore it to him."The context of the quote refers to restoring a person's health to him; much like a doctor restores a person's health by healing him. Since human beings have the power to perform stem cell research and heal a person's poor health through organ or tissue transplant, then stem cell research is surely permissible.