My daughter has a deletion of certain segments of the 15th chromosome (they are not the segments connected with Prader Willi Syndrome, nor for neurofibromatosis). She has a 50% chance of passing this deletion on to her children. The geneticists at Hadassah Hospital feel that, although they don't know conclusively what this deletion causes, they feel that her low/normal IQ, bicuspid heart valve, webbed toes, cafe au lait spots, cleft of the soft palate are part of this mutation. She is now 21 and would like to start dating. Is birth control permitted for her? Is a process of invitro fertilization and re-implanting the "normal" fertilized eggs only (with the mutated ones not being saved) halachically okay?
What advice or suggestions do you have for us?
Thank you.
Under the above circumstances, the process of IVF and re-implanting only the "normal" fertilized eggs (PGD) is halachically okay.
See Nishmat Avraham vol. IV (Hebrew) Even Ha'ezer, 1, a.
In the English edition it is in Even Ha'ezer – chapter 1, 5, note (D):
"… I asked rav
here is a link to the Nishmat Avraham in Hebrew threw the Schlesinger Institute's web site:
https://www.medethics.org.il/articles/NA/NishmatAvraham.EH.1.1.asp
האם אישה בגיל המעבר (53) שרואה דם צריכה לספור 7 ימים לאחר גמר המחזור כמו אישה צעירה יותר או לספור 7 ימים אפילו אם הדימום