Article on The Consequences of Unintentional Incest in Jewish Law and Modern Society

Julia Feuer recently published an Article entitled, The Consequences of Unintentional Incest in Jewish Law and Modern Society, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law eJournal (2018). Provided below is an abstract of the Article.

This article first describes Jewish law’s teachings on matters concerning lineage. The Gemara establishes the fundamental importance of genealogy. It leads us to see that matters of genealogy require a higher standard of care than other matters and that human interventions in this area should be undertaken with great circumspection. In this way, the Gemara provides a prophetic basis for addressing current concerns. Genealogy is of fundamental importance to Jewish cosmology and social thought. Inheritance and the kinship system are of fundamental importance in Jewish law. Thus it is crucial to protect the integrity of the kinship system, to preserve clarity about parentage and all matters of ancestry, and to preserve liceity, that is, fidelity to law, in kinship. Surrogacy, gamete donation, and other assisted reproduction techniques present new genealogical issues that demand consideration in the context of Jewish tradition. Incest is seen as repugnant today, as it was in ancient times. Incest can have devastating medical consequences for children whose parents are close relatives. The closer the genetic relationship, the greater the likelihood of a genetic mutation. Under Jewish law, Halacha, if the parents are first degree relatives (that is, fully or partially siblings), the child born from the union will have the added stigma of the status of a mamzer.