Remembering Rabbi Waldenberg
by Daniel Septimus • November 22nd, 2006 3:07 PM
Category: History & Community, Ideas & Beliefs
The Jerusalem Post reports:
Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, one of the most respected halachic authorities of the modern era and a trailblazer in the field of Jewish medical ethics, passed away Tuesday at the age of 89.
Waldenberg, who served on the High Rabbinic Court together with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, was the unofficial rabbi of Sha’arei Tzedek and was perhaps best known for his controversial halachic opinion on abortions.
In an opinion that sparked a caustic response by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Waldenberg ruled that it was permitted to abort a baby even as late as the seventh month in cases when the embryo suffered from Tay-Sachs, Rubella and even Down Syndrome.
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Rabbi Waldenberg’s positions and opinions are cited in many articles on MJL, including several in the area of Bioethics: Fertility Technology; Euthanasia; and Genetic Screening.
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