For Rabbis
As a rabbi, you are in a unique position to educate and influence couples preparing for marriage or thinking of adding to their families.
We at the Jewish Genetic Disease Consortium ask that you use this influence to talk to engaged couples and other congregants about Jewish genetic diseases, and stress the need for couples to receive genetic counseling and genetic screening prior to pregnancy.
We advocate that you encourage all couples of childbearing age to be screened, so that the couple who discovers they are at risk for having a child with a genetic disease can have the time and opportunity to make informed and educated decisions about building a healthy family.
As one rabbi said, “starting a family without being screened is akin to climbing a building without a safety net.”
Genetic counseling and screening is responsible and accepted according to Halacha, is widely available, and screening for all 19 Jewish Genetic Diseases can be performed with one single blood test. If both members of a couple are found to be carriers of the same genetic disease, a genetic counselor can explain the implications and help guide the couple through the many reproductive choices, potentially eliminating the risk of having a child with a Jewish Genetic Disease. We are not encouraging the pursuit of one option over another, as we believe these are individual choices. But we do believe that every couple should know their genetic status.
We are not attempting to turn rabbis into genetic counselors or take the place of physicians. We offer this learning guide, our in-person training sessions, our brochures and other resources to help you start an important conversation, one that can have a great impact toward creating healthier Jewish families.
The JGDC, in partnership with the New York Board of Rabbis and the UJA-Federation NY, created a Rabbi Educational program in order to better educate Rabbis in the NY tri-state area so that they may in turn inform their constituents, particularly young couples in pre-marital counseling, about the risks of Jewish Genetic Diseases and to encourage them to seek complete genetic screening prior to pregnancy. We launched the program in NYC on October 21, 2010, have conducted workshops in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and Connecticut, and intend to take this program nationally.
JGDC Rabbi Pledge:
