SUICIDE, ASSISTED SUICIDE, ACTIVE EUTHANASIA

canon?’ For this conversation I have utilized not only specifically Jewish texts but the work of ethicists some of whom are Jewish and whose approach has a specific Jewish flavor. In addition I have used ethicists and philosophers who were either secular or Christian to see in what ways they advanced the conversation. An important element that is missing in this paper and in many similar discussion is the woman’s voice.® Feminist scholars suggest- and I concur- that we must pay much closer to the stories of individual people’s lives and not just abstract principles. In deciding what is permissible to do and what is prohibited we must become good listeners. The texts that count are not only the written texts of our traditional or modern literature, but the texts and contexts of people’s life. An important aspect of responsa is the fact that they are case specific and in large measure are concerned with the details of an individual case.

METHODOLOGY

It is now a truism in bio-ethical literature to say that beginning and end of life issues present us with some of the most difficult ethical dilemmas. New technologies are causing us to rethink the definitions of life and death and what constitutes medical treatment. Our ability to intervene in the process of conception and fetal development with in utero surgery and genetic engineering, and our ability to prolong life and death with medications and mechanical devices are the blessing and curse of modern medicine. These developments require a fundamental review of the way in which we make determinations.

Methodology often determines outcome.’ A liberal halakhic approach is more than an attempt to look for lenient precedents within the law. Tt is essentially an ethical analysis of the structure of Jewish living.” Professor David Ellenson in an important article," has identified two methodologies for making"moral choices"-- halakhic formalism and covenantal ethics.

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