"What shall I do unto this people?" - BIOETHICAL DILEMMAS IN JEWISH THOUGHT ON MEDICAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION: THE...

Life and death decisions have always been part of the medical profession. Modem discussions on resource allocation in health care deal with such critical situations, and seek ethical solutions that will benefit individuals and society as well as conserve scarce resources. Deontological ethics and utilitarianism are opposing ethical views, each with its own theory on solving moral dilemmas. Utilitarian logic aims at maximizing the benefit for the greatest number of people, while deontological theories strive to uphold pervasive moral principles. Jewish thought has always confronted the toughest of human predicaments head-on. As we review part of the Jewish discourse on distributive justice throughout the ages, we will show its relevance to modem discussions on medical resource allocation. As in modem secular ethics, Jewish thought juxtaposes the two aforementioned philosophical viewpoints, and constantly attempts to reconcile them. Extracting from each theory its strengths, the ethical conclusions reached in Jewish religious texts are relevant to issues of resource allocation throughout the ages.