A new course exploring Jewish medical ethics will be offered in Sarasota starting this Fall. Jewish Medical Ethics: A 21st Century Discussion will explore how traditional Jewish principles apply to contemporary medical issues, such as passive euthanasia, artificial reproductive technologies, cloning and more. Rabbi Jennifer Singer will lead the 10-session course, which is designed to provide participants with a range of perspectives on these multi-layered topics.

"This program is designed to give people a broad idea, not to have one perspective, but to provide several different perspectives," Singer said.

The course was developed by Rabbi Elliot Dorff, PhD, a rabbi and author of Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics. He created the curriculum for the Melton program. Singer said the program aims to provide Jewish ethical perspectives without advocating for a particular viewpoint.

“Judaism isn’t going to make the decision for you,” she said. “It's going to provide an ethical background and information that's been thought about over the millennia. People are thinking about this stuff literally everyday every day, but [the decision] is up to the individual family.”

The course will meet weekly from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 28 and running through Jan. 13. The cost is $295, with registration available through the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee website.

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