As our world is rapidly advancing and globalizing, people are aware of and more inclined to make use of assisted reproductive technologies ,such as IVF (In vitro fertilization), in order to fulfill their individual desires or religious obligations to have children. However, differences in religion and tradition have contributed to various approaches to reproductive technologies. For instance, as Hinduism contains no central authority or law, Swasti Bhattacharrya, in her book Magical Progeny, Modern Technology a Hindu Bioethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology, explains her interpretation and understanding of a Hindu bioethics within the Mahabharata, an ancient, crucial Indian epic. On the other hand, in Michael J.Broyde’s Marriage, Sex, and Family in Judaism, Broyde analyzes assisted reproductive technologies from a Jewish law perspective, and as a result, he withholds his opinions as he is limited to the already established Jewish law. Fundamentally, differences in the cultures, Hinduism and Judaism, shape the authors’ methodologies and aims; as Bhattacharrya claims that Hindus generally accept assisted reproductive technologies as a solution to infertility, Broyde emphasizes that Jews reluctantly condone reproductive technologies as a last resort to procreation.          

Generally, Hinduism places a common cultural emphasis on the importance of having children. In Hindu society, an old married couple without children is seen as unfortunate or unworthy of possessing God’s gift of children. Because children are perceived as a vital aspect of Hindu life, Bhattacharrya proclaims that Hindus are more accepting of assisted reproductive technology as it finds a loophole to infertility. Additionally, in the Mahabharata, when Pandu finds out that he possesses a curse that will inhibit him from having children, Pandu miserably says “For a childless man they say…there is no door to heaven. Therefore I who am childless am much troubled” (Bhattacharrya 50). Thus, even though there is not a Hindu law that proclaims Hindus are obligated to reproduce, most Hindus feel that it is their duty, or dharma, to produce good children that will benefit the society as a whole, and if they do not complete this duty, they believe that they will be prevented from reaching heaven or moksha, a state of peace. Assisted Reproductive technologies are seen as a way to fulfill an individual’s dharma, and as a result, secure a peaceful afterlife. Furthermore, in the Mahabharatta, humans and Gods work together in the process of procreation, and humans are able to manipulate the Gods to receive a favorable outcome.  For instance, in the Mahabharata, when Kunti and Madri, the wives of Pandu, are upset that they cannot conceive children, they each contact a God that has desirable qualities, such as leadership, strength, and power, to give them a child. From this, Bhattavharrya analyzes that by getting impregnated through God, Kunti and Madri accessed a “divine sperm bank” just as modern Hindus seek artificial insemination to combat infertility (Bhattacharrya 42). In addition, just as Kunti and Madri had the opportunity to choose which God their child came from, modern Hindus carefully select their donors based on what qualities they want their child to possess.

Essentially, according to Jewish law, God is the ultimate control of procreation, and humans should not interfere with God’s creations and his role in the universe. However, the Jewish also are obligated to help those who are in need, and particularly compounded by the specific obligation to reproduce, thus inclining one to permit advances in reproductive technologies. Therefore, to find a medium between Jewish moral conservatism and assisting the infertile couples, reproductive technologies are “neither prohibited nor permissible in the eyes of Jewish law, but rather are subject to a case-by-case analysis” (Broyde 295). Basically, Broyde suggests that Jewish law will condone reproductive technologies in order to allow Jews to fulfill the obligation “to be fruitful and multiply”, but they will not allow an infertile couple the use of reproductive technologies in order to have children to fix their marriage, resolve the fear of mortality, or simply because everyone else around them has children (Genesis Ch1). According to Broyde, although Jewish legal tradition requires a man to procreate by having a minimum of two children, “it is quite clear that the normative Jewish tradition assigns no obligation upon women to reproduce” (Broyde 310). By not requiring women to reproduce, the Jewish law tends to lean against the use assisted reproductive technologies, but it will condone the use of such technologies if it is necessary.

Overall, differences in the religions, Hinduism and Judaism, mold the authors’ objectives; as Bhattacharrya suggests that Hindus commonly embrace assisted reproductive technologies as a loophole to infertility, Broyde emphasizes that Jews hesitantly allow the use of reproductive technologies as a last resort to procreation. As various cultures contain diverse attitudes towards assisted reproductive technologies, Bhattacharrya attempts to create her own modernized version of a Hindu bioethics for fellow Hindus to look up to when needed, while Broyde reemphasizes the Jewish law’s position on assisted reproductive technologies and implies that Jewish law is trying to keep up with the advancing world by analyzing such technologies and condoning them on specific, necessary cases.

Works Cited

Bhattacharya, Swasti  Magical Progeny, Modern Technology: A Hindu Bioethics of Reproductive Technology (Suny University Press, 2006).

Broyde, Micheal J. “Modern Reproductive Technologies and Jewish Law,” In Michael J. Broyde and Michael Ausubel editors, Marriage, Sex and the Family in Judaism (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), pp. 295-328.

Book of Genesis, chapter 1 <http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/Genesis.pdf>