Published August 25, 2009
Last week we spoke about a new and exciting method for female fertility preservation, ovarian freezing, in which ovarian tissue is removed. This tissue is frozen and is later thawed and reimplanted in the body. Results have shown that the tissue regenerates and produces eggs and the regular hormones of the ovary.
This seems to be a serious advance for the whole field of fertility preservation but it involves a large halachic question, namely, castration.
Castrating a male is forbidden by the Torah and a castrated man cannot marry. However the Torah does not clearly state whether this prohibition is only for men or includes women as well.
Many authorities hold that while there is a Torah prohibition against castrating males, there is no such Torah prohibition regarding females, although there is a rabbinic prohibition. The Gaon of Vilna writes that there is no difference between men and women and the Torah prohibition against castration holds for both sexes. This opinion has become the leading opinion and most authorities do not allow female castration, such as a hysterectomy or tubal ligation, only in cases when life is threatened, since pikuach nefesh overrides Torah prohibitions. In all other cases where there is no danger to life, they do not permit it.
Castration does not only mean removing the entire reproductive organ, such as the entire ovary, but even removing some of the organ is problematic, especially if this compromises fertility. So if removing ovarian tissue would speed up menopause, for example, then it should be forbidden.
As we have previously seen, in cases of cancer patients, fertility preservation is often seen as a positive contributing factor to a good outcome of cancer treatment. Women who need to undergo treatment are concerned that they will lose their fertility, but when they know that this is taken care of they can relax on this front and are willing to undergo all that is needed in order to overcome the illness.
In this vein the removal of the ovarian tissue is considered part of the remedy and is permitted.
The Puah Institute for Fertility and Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertility problems. Puah offers free counseling in five languages, halachic supervision, and educational programs. Puah has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. To contact the Puah Institute please call 1-800-071111 in Israel or in the US 718-336-0603. website: http://www.puahonline.org
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