Rabbis okay Gender Selection and apparently believe in swaying too!

[nuthinbutpink]

From Algemeiner.com-

After years in which rabbis forbade any sort of gender selection at conception, a recent revolutionary Halachic (Jewish legal) ruling has now deemed it permissible to intervene and select the gender of a fetus in certain situations. The ruling was to be officially issued at a conference on Wednesday organized by the Puah Institute, which offers fertility treatments in line with Jewish law.

“There are three ways to select the gender of a fetus,” Institute founder Rabbi Menachem Burstein said. “The first way is the most natural, and depends on the man and the exact time the woman ovulates. Another method involves putting the sperm in a special apparatus to separate the male [Y chromosome] sperm from the female [X chromosome] sperm. The third method involves in vitro fertilization.”

According to Burstein, rabbis have forbidden any kind of intervention until now. ”It is considered to be the spilling of seed, and a gross intervention, which is generally unacceptable. But since the number of requests has been growing, and since sometimes the requests stem from a deep psychological need, it is possible to permit the second and third methods,” he said.

“We have come across cases of people who felt it was important to have sons to carry on the family line because of the Holocaust, or families with six or seven daughters in which the father wants a son so much that it threatens the marriage. In cases like this, the matter will be examined by the appropriate rabbis, psychologists and medical committees, and clearly a Halachic compromise can be reached. Jewish law is making incredible strides as medicine advances. It is easiest always to say no, but sometimes, if the rules can be eased or and if solutions can be found then we should strive for that,” he said.

Taken from Jewish & Israel News | Algemeiner.com Breaking Alerts, Commentary, Insights Analysis and Blogs

[lisvna]

Im jewish and know this already for a few years......there was a case with a family. The man was very depressed because they had only one gender in the family and he felt he wasn't a good husband and father due to that. He had so much psychological problems that he couldn't function "normal". They went to their rabbi and the approved PGD. After getting their desired gender with PGD the father felt good and their had a normal family life.

[lisvna]

I was looking for the link and I found that particular case:

"The depressed father
A family with 5 children of one gender consulted PUAH. The father was under psychological care because of severe depression at having single gendered offspring. The depression was so severe that it prevented him from interacting with his children and functioning as a parent to them and husband to his wife. While extended psychological treatment was a viable option, the psychologist also felt that having a gender selected child could also treat the problem. After consulting with the psychologist and PUAH counselor, their Rabbi determined that the incapacity in this case was so severe that it permitted gender selection for their 6th pregnancy. The treatment was successful and the father is fully participant as a parent for ALL his children and no longer requires psychological care."

PGD and Halacha | Jewish Fertility.org

[rubyroo83]

Gosh the poor wife of that Jewish father!

[atomic sagebrush]

Yeah, but at the same time I bet a lot of people pity our husbands too, KWIM? I feel really sorry for men with GD because I think there's even more of a social stigma against it.