Touro’s New York Medical College Co-Sponsors Conference on Jewish Perspective of Reproductive Medicine

November 30, 2015
Media Contact

Gabe Kahn
212-463-0400 x5404
gabriel.kahn@touro.edu

New York, N.Y. – “The Future of Reproductive Medicine: a Jewish Perspective,” is the topic of a conference to be presented by the Medical Ethics and Humanities program of New York Medical College (NYMC), a division of Touro College, and the Columbia University Center for Bioethics. Touro College, NYMC, Columbia University and the Orthodox Union are co-sponsoring the event, which will feature four prominent experts on both Jewish law and the medical field. 

Experts include Rabbi Tzvi Flaum, of Lander College for Women; Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, of Yeshiva University; Dr. Theodore Silver, of the Touro Law Center; and Dr. Susan Lobel, of Metropolitan Reproductive Medicine. The conference will take place on Dec. 6, 2015, from 9 am to 3 pm at Lander College for Women-The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School, located at 227 West 60th Street in Manhattan.

The all-day program will tackle several difficult questions on the subject, with each scholar offering their personal approaches and opinions. The conference will focus on two ethically challenging biotechnologies, mitochondrial transplantation therapy and reproductive cloning.

“Having children is one of our most basic desires, and modern advances in biotechnology make the fulfillment of this wish possible for more couples than ever before,” said Dr. Ira Bedzow, the director of the biomedical ethics and humanities program at NYMC. Dr. Bedzow is one of two conference organizers, along with Dr. John D. Loike, a member of the Columbia University Faculty. “Yet all advances come with their own sets of moral challenges and legal quandaries, issues which will be addressed by the esteemed academics and professionals we’ve assembled.”

Among the questions that will be discussed:

  • Is it permissible to create an embryo from more than two parents?
  • What is the legal and religious status of an embryo created from two men or two women?
  • Who is the legal or halakhic mother or mothers in embryos created from genetic information obtained from two women?

The cost of attendance is $25 per person and will include lunch. To register, please visit https://goo.gl/MtvPqo.

The Lander College for Women is an undergraduate division of Touro, a student-centered college located in midtown Manhattan where Jewish women follow a rigorous academic program as they pursue their baccalaureate degrees, while continuing and deepening their Torah education and commitment. For more information on the LanderCollege for Women, please go to http://lcw.touro.edu.

 

About the Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.