A DANGEROUS MEDICAL EXPERIMENT Walter Jacob
QUESTION: A man with a severe heart disease and no more than six months to live wants to know whether he may participate in a controlled experiment with a new drug; he is anxious to do so. Since the purpose of the experiment is to save lives in the future, may he participate even though there is some danger of shortening his life-span? His own chance for a cure at this late stage of the disease is slight.(H. T., Los Angeles , CA )*
ANSWER: It is a general rule that every person should avoid danger to life. So, the Talmud (Berakhot 3a; Shabbat 32a) said that a person should not walk among ruined buildings because of the danger that a shaky wall may collapse. The Talmud (Hulin 10a) stated that danger to life and health was of greater concern than religious prohibitions(hamira saqanta tamira). In other words, one must exercise greater care to avoid danger than a religious prohibition.
The general rule of guarding against danger is, however, confronted by the duty of rescuing a fellow human from danger. This has been discussed from early times by our tradition(Lev. 19.16; Sanhedrin 73a; Shulhan Arukh Hoshen Mishpat 426). The question then is whether we may endanger ourselves in order to help others. There is no doubt that we must assist our fellowman through our means or influence, but are we permitted or required to go further? This question has been discussed in a rather picturesque way by David Ibn Zimri of Egypt(16th Century). In his responsa(Vol. III,#627), the following incident was cited: The Pasha told a certain Jew to allow his leg to be amputated or else he(the Pasha) would kill another Jew . May this man endanger his life(since the amputation was dangerous) in order to save the life of a fellow Jew? David Ibn Zimri considered this beyond the cail of duty.
The medieval Sefer Hassidim(#467, ed., Margolis) described a
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medicine which cured or killed the patient in nine da; Prohibited the drug on the basis that it might kill the patient be time(godem zemano). A number of later authorities have agree