Intermountain Jewish news., 1925-11-12
The Jewish Attitude Toward
Autopsy
By DR.. JACOB 2. LAUTERBACK
PART II


Ne~s, Dr.. Lastertack discussed he
faimsdic a~d RsAbinic attitudes TO-
'cdrd autopsy pointing out numsr-
ons instdmces in Hhish theD sdnctio~sd
The practice or took Il for granted. In
this concluding portion of the article,
Dr. Lduterbaek takes up the psyche
iogicdt. sentimental aud traditional ob-
jcctions to the p''actsce of autopsy
among Jews.-EDIToa.) .-
The objection to the practice Of
autopsy, which is prevalent amnag
Jewish people, is based merely on the
assumption that such a practice 10
disgrace to the human body and IN
insult to the dead person. And, Of
course, we are not permitted to treat
disrespectfully 4 dead person. This
supposition, however, that a post mor-
tenn examination constitutes a dis
grace to the human body has no real
basis in Jewish literature. 1t is true,
In the Talmud (Hullin llb) it is as
sumed that to dissect and examine q
dead body might be considered dis.
grace to that body. which, of course,
should be avoided. This, however,
holds good only in the case when It
is done unnecessarily and for no good
purpose. For in the same message In
the Talmud it is taken for graated
that if such post mortem examiaa-
tion might possibly result in saving
another mans life, e. g.. in the case
Of 4 suspected murder when . post
mortem examinatioa Of the killed per-
son might prove the innocence Of the
suspected murderer-we should, by
All means, Aissect and examine the
dead body, so that VIC may possibly
avoid the loss of another life.
(. And, on general psychological
grounds, we have no reason to assume
that the dead person would feel in.
suited if subjected to u post mortem
examination. We may Fathsr assSne
the contrary. Just ~ . living person,
while undergoing an operation, has no
objection to physicians and students
seeing him cut open and watching the
surgeon performing the operation. 50
also the dead person, since 1t gives
him no pain. would have no objection
to the physicians cutting him up In
order to learn the cause of his death
or the nature of his disease. To apply
the Tslmudic phrase (Pesahim 4b) In
a somewhat different sense than the
one in which it was originally used in
the Tslmud, we may say it would
rather be pleasing to the dead person
to know that he is benefiting human
ity in that from his body the physi-
clans might learn to combat disease
and to alleviate the su6erings of
other people. The consideration that
by post mortem examination the
physicians pay learn the nature Of a
certain disease and thus be enabled to
help other people suffering from the
same disease has indeed led twO>great
rabbinical authorities of the 18th and
18th century to permit autopsies un-
der certain conditions. R. Ezechiel
Landau (1713-1793) in his Noda BIZ
Yehudah Tinyana, part of fore Deah
No. 210, and, following him, p. Moses
Sofer (1763-1s39) in his Hatam
Softer. part of Yore Deah No. 1886,
permit autopsy. but only when there
is in the same locality another person.
suffering from the same disease from
which the person to be subjected to
autopsy died. Their reasons for per-
hitting the autopsy are very cogent.
Since by the autopsy the physicians
may learn to understand better the
nature of the disease and thus be
enabled to save life of the other
person afflicted with It. And, accord
ing to the Talmudic -rabbinic law, all
the laws of the Torsh. excepting
those against idolatry, incest and
murder, may and should be violated,
If necessary, for the saving of hu-