Coping with Multiple Uncertainties: A Jewish Perspective on Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer and Prophylactic Interventions

THIS ESSAY APPLIES CONCEPTS AND VALUE JUDGMENTS FROM WITHIN the Jewish tradition to the range of questions raised by genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations as well as possible prophylactic interventions to prevent breast cancer; in so doing, it models a Jewish methodology for approaching contemporary...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Popovsky, Mark (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Philosophy Documentation Center 2009
In: Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Year: 2009, Volume: 29, Issue: 1, Pages: 127-151
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:THIS ESSAY APPLIES CONCEPTS AND VALUE JUDGMENTS FROM WITHIN the Jewish tradition to the range of questions raised by genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations as well as possible prophylactic interventions to prevent breast cancer; in so doing, it models a Jewish methodology for approaching contemporary situations through the lens of classical Judaism. It notes the Jewish tradition's robust skepticism about the value of partial knowledge and its repeated admonitions against predicting future events based on incomplete data. The essay also weighs Jewish tradition's strong imperative to aggressively pursue good health against Judaism's equally strong reluctance to attempt to predict future events based on partial data. This essay offers few definitive conclusions about Jewish law; instead, it shows that Jewish tradition can tolerate and support several different choices simultaneously. Jewish sources can guide individuals through the decision-making process without prescribing specific behaviors.
ISSN:2326-2176
Contains:Enthalten in: Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5840/jsce200929133