YUTORAH: YU Student Medical Ethics Society -- Recent Shiurim

Ethics Of Postmortem Reproduction - Dec 16, 2018 - The issue of posthumous reproduction, the retrieval and use of the gametes of a deceased person, is fraught with ethical, legal, and religious debate. Should gametes be considered property or organs? Is it ethical to make someone a parent without their consent or would denying them this opportunity be considered harm? Who should have the right to access a deceased person’s gametes?

Artificial Wombs: A New Perspective On Fertility - Dec 16, 2018 - The possibility of a baby developing in a bag seems like something straight out of a futuristic novel, yet the emerging field of ectogenesis seeks to do just this: provide the possibility of a fetus to develop outside the mother’s womb. This technology has tremendous medical relevance for women who cannot carry a fetus to term, yet it also begs serious social and ethical questions: what does it mean for a fetus to never have a

Oncofertility: Parenthood Options For Survivors - Dec 16, 2018 - Breakthroughs in medical care have tremendously increased the rate of pediatric cancer survival. Today’s rapidly growing population of adults who have survived childhood cancer demands an immediate response to the inherent ethical and halakhic issues surrounding fertility preservation and treatment in children. Which treatments enable not only survival but also quality of life following recovery? How can medicine preserve the fertility

The Anti-Aging Revolution - Dec 10, 2017 - Following the antibiotic revolution of the 20th Century, life expectancy in the US has only increased minimally. Today, the number of Americans spending a large part of their retirement years in hospitals is only increasing, comprising the vast majority of US healthcare costs. Recently, advances in the scientific field of aging have brought us to the point where the concept of “growing old” may be a manipulable process. The generation-old question