Here’s an ethical issue and Jewish source response:

Case

Jodie and Mary were born as Siamese twins.  If they are left unseparated, they will most likely both die.  If they are separated, one of the babies, Mary, will definitely die, and one, Jodie, will probably live.  The parents are opposed to the operation because they are not willing to be responsible for the death of one of their daughters.  They are willing to stand by, do nothing, and hope for a miracle.  The British courts are thinking about ordering the operation (against the parents will).

Should a court order an operation that will save Jodie’s life?

Answer

In the case of twins who need to be separated for one of them to live, the parents, devout Roman Catholics, say only God should determine how long the children will live.  Most Jewish authorities in Great Britain argued that the court should force the operation.

[a] There is a Jewish legal principle called “ha-Rodef,” the pursuer.  If person A is chasing person B in order to kill him or her, an outsider can kill A in order to save B’s life, if that is the only way to protect B.  The rabbis used this principle in the case of abortion, saying that if a mother’s life is at risk, the fetus is considered to be “a pursuer.’  This means that the fetus must be terminated if that is the only way of assuring the mother’s health.  The same principle applies to the weaker of the twins here.

[b] Berel Berkovits of the Federation of Synagogues, an Orthodox body, said there are two ways to look at the case.  “Is it one person or two?”  he said of the twins.  “You might argue that it’s one organism, in which case separating one from the other is like an amputation to save a life.”  That course of action is certainly permissible.  If the twins are two separate organisms. Each could be considered a pursuer of the other, since each, in effect, would kill the other if they are not separated.  

[c] Rabbi Charles Middleburgh of the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues said, “One of the things that Judaism teaches is that the saving of life is paramount.  Because it is possible to save Jodie by separating her from her sister, Jewish tradition recommends that option.”

[d] Rabbi Chaim Rapoport, the chief rabbi’s spokesman on medical ethics, explained why he disagreed with the parents’ desire to let nature take its course.  “Judaism rejects passivity and noninterference with nature.  Jewish law supports the life-saving operation.”

Joel Grishaver, “You Be the Judge 3”, pgs. 16-18

Used with permission from Joel Grishaver