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An ethical question, not a religious problem
Q: Polls show a majority of Americans are concerned about the H1N1 virus (swine flu), but also about the safety and efficacy of the swine flu vaccine. Is it ethical to say no to this or any vaccine? Are there valid religious reasons to accept or decline a vaccine? Will you get a swine flu shot? Will your children?
The use of vaccines is a part of an engaging query concerning those religious beliefs that prohibit using medicine in any form. There were, and are, people who were against any medical treatment, thinking that it is an undue interference with the will of God.
In itself, it is an interesting question, but surely not the essence of this particular query. When we accept the use of medicine in general, the use of any particular medication or vaccine is not a religious problem, but sometimes an ethical, and mostly a practical question. The ethical question concerns two groups of people: journalists and medical entrepreneurs. The news media were very active in promoting the swine flu. It got lots of publicity, not all of it accurate, nor measured. At the same time, the medical entrepreneurs found a new source of profit.
If we knew for a fact that the vaccine is completely safe and sure, then it would be just a matter of calculating the costs vs. the danger. As it is now, the malady itself is imprecisely defined, and the help that the vaccine provides is also not very clear. So there are indeed two ethical questions: How much one may ask the journalists to be precise, even when it means a loss of big headlines? And how should medical companies weigh profit vs. value. If these questions have to be raised, sometimes it has to do with human swine rather than the poor four-legged ones.
By
Adin Steinsaltz
|
October 17, 2009; 11:04 PM ET
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Posted by: walter-in-fallschurch | October 25, 2009 11:23 AM
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what would you say to the notion that "there is NO concept of a 'personal god' in judaism"?
to clarify, i'm speaking of judaism
1)in scripture
2)as practised historically
3)as practiced now
Posted by: walter-in-fallschurch | October 20, 2009 11:30 AM
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mr. steinsaltz,
i ask the question below in all seriousness. i have had a conversation with someone who said there is no concept of a personal god in judaism. that doesn't seem like what's reflected in the texts. i don't know much about jewish practices, historical and modern, so i'd like your expert opinion.