Israel – The 1980 amendment to the Anatomy and Pathology Law that gives a veto to bereaved parents on whether an autopsy may be performed on their infant suspected of have died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or crib death death) must be changed, according to Dr. Pnina Aviram, a senior lawyer and bioethicist at the Ono Academic College.
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Aviram was speaking at an all-day seminar attended by 400 doctors, nurses and families who have gone through the tragedy of SIDS.
She said that only a couple of autopsies are performed each year to determine the causes of death of seemingly healthy infants below the age of one year.
There is widespread opinion that it would be impossible politically for the Knesset to pass an amendment that would allow an expanded hospital ethics committee to decide if such a post-mortem exam were needed, but she strongly advocated this. The religious parties, as well as others, would resist changing the Autopsy and Pathology Law, she said.
“What I say sounds provocative and even a bit extreme. I am a liberal. But I have heard many of the medical lectures today on the causes of SIDS, and though all of them presented lots of data, nobody knows if the wrong conclusions have been reached. Why does SIDS occur?” She said she now knew only the statistical answer – going to sleep in a supine position, not exposing the infant to tobacco smoke and other chemicals, not heating the room and the child excessively and other factors.
But it is all guessing, she said, as autopsies in such cases are extremely rare.
Aviram added that when a child has to undergo any medical procedure, in many cases, parents cannot make an objective decision; a legal ethics committee must look at each case to determine what it is needed to learn the truth.
Dr. Rabbi Mordechai Halperin, the Health Ministry’s medical ethics expert and also a gynecologist, spoke by telephone to say that there must be reasons for something to be forbidden by Halacha; if not, it is permitted.
He said that autopsies on infants suspected of having died of crib death have been allowed by leading rabbinical arbiters if there is a very good reason, such as saving a life, but at the same time one must not desecrate bodies unnecessarily by dissecting them.
Halperin gave the example from 20 years ago, when a baby died soon after getting a hepatitis B vaccination. The ministry was concerned that there might have been something wrong with that specific batch of vaccine, in which case they would have to destroy the batch of vaccine to save other babies.
The late arbiter Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach said he would agree if Halperin was present when the autopsy, which could not be replaced by a scan or x-ray, was performed on the infant. In the end, the operation in Abu Kabir showed the baby had a rare fatal ear infection, and the vaccine was safe.
Saving a theoretical life is not enough to approve an autopsy, he added.
Halperin noted that Jewish law prefers a non-invasive way to make such discoveries. If a scan, CT or even an MRI can provide a good answer, it is much preferred. But if not, an autopsy can be approved by a leading arbiter.
I believe there is really no such disease as SIDS. This syndrome was identified after one woman’s children kept passing away in mysterious circumstances, but ultimately it turned out that she murdered them all.
Regarding Autopsies the Halacha is, if you have a PT in front of you that could be helped by an Autopsy you are allowed to do the Autopsy but “LEHISLAMED” to learn from an Autopsy for future prevention you are not allowed
Igres Moishe and other poiskim
Why can’t they rely on medical information gleaned from SIDS babies who aren’t Jewish and whose parents agreed to an autopsy. What do they think THEY will come up with?
SIDS presents differently than other deaths. There is no sign of struggle to breathe (“blue baby”) or other trauma. Nor is there a presence of those hormones associated with stress and pain. The baby simply exhales and does not inhale. The mothers are NOT murderers and your statement shows ignorance and great cruelty.
Somehow, I doubt whether Babishka even understands the meaning of the word “syndrome”.
As #5 stated, SIDS is a syndrome not a disease. Some factors associated with SIDS are: prematurity and cigarette smoke; both before and after birth. Parents are advised to put their babies ‘back to sleep’, that is, on their backs.
As stated, autopsies in general are a delicate subject in halacha, COD on its own may not be sufficient grounds to grant a heter…but there are greater people to decide these matters.
Many of you seem to forget that in the Spring of 1969, some 42 years ago, there was a large rally held in front of the Israeli Consul to the UN in Manhattan, protesting forced autopsies in Israel. For weeks in advance, there were posters placed in various subway locations and on the buses. The rally was attended by thousands and was successful, as the Israel Consul received the message. They were not too happy about that rally; however, the number of forced autopsies in EY dropped dramatically after the rally.