Showing posts with label Puah Institute. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puah Institute. Show all posts
Jan 1, 2013
Interesting Psak: Choosing Gender of Baby
According to this article in Yisrael HaYom, Machon Puah is going to be announcing tomorrow at their conference that in certain situations it will be allowed for a person to select the gender of their baby. Unfortunately it does not say which rav, and I assume they would only publicize such a psak if it came from a gadol, authorized it.
Rav Menachem Burshtein, head of Puah Institute, explains that there are three possibilities for selecting the gender of a baby:
Rav Menachem Burshtein, head of Puah Institute, explains that there are three possibilities for selecting the gender of a baby:
- the more natural way of working around the ovulation schedule and scheduling sexual relations accordingly, in order to have a better chance at whichever gender you prefer.
- putting the sperm into a machine that separates the female sperm and the male sperm and only using the male sperm to fertilize the egg.
- IVF - in vitro fertilization
Until now, the rabbonim have not allowed people to select their preferred gender of baby. Any intervention by the parents was seriously frowned upon.
Recently, Rav Burshtein says, their has been an increased number of requests, and sometimes it is a very serious emotional issue, it can sometimes be allowed using methods 2 and 3. The first method, the natural way, is always allowed, but it does not always work, and is not always so easy to calculate properly.
Rav Burshtein says, for example, that in a situation of a couple that has six or seven daughters and the father really wants a boy to the point that it can become a shalom bayis issue, the issue of gender selection will be weighed by a panel of rabbonim who are psychologists and the relevant health committees, and sometimes it might be possible for a favorable halachic decision.
Fascinating!
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Jan 12, 2012
Machon PUAH's Upcoming Female Only Conference
The PUAH Institute has announced a response to the attack against them, and to the demand that they cancel their conference.
They released an announcement to the press saying that they will be holding a separate conference for women only in 6 months from now, corresponding with the yahrtzeit of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, who taught them the ways of unity and respect for each person.
They are not canceling their current conference, with male-only presenters. That will continue as scheduled. The next conference, for women only, will be in addition to that. And, the newly scheduled female-only conference, will not just e a one-off response, but will become an annual conference of its own.
It is not clear to me if "for women only" means only female presenters or if the conference will be only open to women in the audience as well.
My initial thought is that this is not really much of a response. And, if I thought Machon PUAH was wrong for hosting a male-presenter-only conference, which I do not, I would not see this as an adequate solution. No matter what other conference they are willing to hold, in this conference females are being excluded. And, if it is not ok to have a male-only conference, why is it ok to have a female-only conference. While it is a nice gesture, I do not see it as a solution to the complaints. I am curious as to how this announcement is being received by those who protested Machon PUAH in the first place. I have not seen any announcement about it, but I would be surprised if they found this acceptable.
They released an announcement to the press saying that they will be holding a separate conference for women only in 6 months from now, corresponding with the yahrtzeit of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, who taught them the ways of unity and respect for each person.
They are not canceling their current conference, with male-only presenters. That will continue as scheduled. The next conference, for women only, will be in addition to that. And, the newly scheduled female-only conference, will not just e a one-off response, but will become an annual conference of its own.
It is not clear to me if "for women only" means only female presenters or if the conference will be only open to women in the audience as well.
My initial thought is that this is not really much of a response. And, if I thought Machon PUAH was wrong for hosting a male-presenter-only conference, which I do not, I would not see this as an adequate solution. No matter what other conference they are willing to hold, in this conference females are being excluded. And, if it is not ok to have a male-only conference, why is it ok to have a female-only conference. While it is a nice gesture, I do not see it as a solution to the complaints. I am curious as to how this announcement is being received by those who protested Machon PUAH in the first place. I have not seen any announcement about it, but I would be surprised if they found this acceptable.
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