Hear the phrase Jewish medical ethics, and issues such as the religion's view on organ transplants or euthanasia usually come to mind. But Rabbi Elliott Dorff wants to broaden that discussion.
He believes that such matters as most efficiently distributing limited health care resources and ensuring access to health care for all Americans also should be considered through the Jewish ethical framework.
'Secular medical ethics is based on Western liberalism' and has an 'individual rights perspective' based on 'what does the patient want,' said Dorff, rector, professor of philosophy and co-chair of the bioethics department at American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) in Los Angeles.
'The Jewish tradition ... is not as individualistic' and is 'much more communitarian,' which is important in a world in which 'medical care is no longer just [between] the doctor and patient' and resources are limited.
Too much of traditional Jewish bioethics has confined its attention to the here and now, at the bedside. Dorff argues for a more systematic approach to the larger structures of contemporary health care financing and delivery. That's long past due in the field. Rabbi Dorff is not unique in this, but has been one of the leaders.
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