The Sanctity of the Human Body
Reproduced with permission
While the culture in the United States has swung toward patient autonomy
over the past few decades, Judaism retains a markedly paternalistic view of
medicine. The Torah states that the human body was created Bi'tzelem Elokim,
in the image of G-d, and is the property of the Creator. Man is given
custodial rights to his body, and has no more right to harm or destroy his
body than the superintendent has to ransack the building he is hired to
maintain.
This simple concept has applications in all facets of medicine. The Torah
(Leviticus 19:28) forbids tattooing because it permanently mars the body,
akin to graffiti on a magnificent building. Piercing of earlobes is
permitted because it is not a permanent change and will heal if the posts
are not continuously kept in place. Aesthetics aside, presumably any other
body part may be pierced if the effects are not permanent. We see in the
Torah that Rivka wore a nose-ring!
Suicide is strictly prohibited (Genesis 9:5) because the custodian may
not prematurely destroy the body he is duty-bound to protect. By extension,
a physician may not hasten the death of a patient, not only because of his
duty to preserve life, but because he has no right to destroy the property
of another, in this case G-d.
One's custodial duties extend even further. He must protect his body from
harm and do everything possible to repair any damage that occurs. Therefore,
the individual is required to live a healthy life (including preventive
healthcare) and to seek medical care when needed. Maimonides was one of the
earliest medical proponents of preventive medicine, clean air and
environment, and the value of a healthy diet and exercise. Judaism does not
recognize the right to refuse effective therapy. On the other hand, we are
generally forbidden from performing dangerous experimental treatment on
humans, unless the expected outcome is therapeutic and no established
effective treatment exists.
Even after death, the stewardship continues. The Torah (Deuteronomy
21:23) requires immediate burial for everyone, including criminals. Without
a valid reason, no invasion of the body is permitted, because it is created
in the image of G-d. The accepted opinion in Jewish law, formulated in the
18th century by Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, forbids autopsy and transplant
unless an identifiable human life may be saved. Because one's body is not
his property, the halachic consensus is that one may not donate his body to
science or to a medical school for the training of future physicians.
One modern scholar who dealt with the prohibition on harming one's body
was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. While dieting for medical reasons is certainly
permissible, Rabbi Feinstein examined the question of dieting for vanity
alone, which deprives the body of the pleasure of eating and may involve
substantial discomfort. He ruled that dieting, even if only to look thin, is
permitted because the personal gain from the feeling of looking good is
greater than the benefit one derives from eating the extra dessert!
While plastic surgery to correct deformities is certainly permissible,
Rabbi Feinstein rules that plastic surgery is sometimes also permitted to
improve self-image. He reasons that improved self-image is a tangible
benefit that, in certain circumstances, may outweigh the prohibition on
harming oneself.