Yael Hashiloni-Dolev

• Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo

A novel family created by the confluence of single motherhood by choice and posthumous reproduction, one we term – a Single Mother Ghost Father family, may become a commonly available reproductive route in Israel under a recently submitted bill. This is the first empirical research looking at this now-rare family structure from within. Based on sem...

This paper reports on the findings of an international workshop organised by the UK-France+ Genomics and Ethics Network (UK-FR + GENE) in 2022. The focus of the workshop were the ethical and social issues raised by public-private partnerships in the context of large-scale genomics initiatives in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Israel, i.e....

This paper focuses on the analysis of the discourse in major Israeli ultra-Orthodox newspapers during the first year of COVID-19. Following Durkheim, we argue that the pandemic not only brought about a health emergency, but also a state of anomie. Analyzing both Hamodia and Yated Neeman—both major news outlets of the ultra-Orthodox community in Isr...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

Prenatal diagnosis, especially noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), has changed the experience of pregnancy, prenatal care and responsibilities in Israel and Germany in different ways. These differences reflect the countries' historical legacies, medico-legal policies, normative and cultural identities. Building on this observation, the contributor...

The Haredi (ultraorthodox Jewish) community in Israel presents distinct views on disability and prenatal testing compared to the pro-testing attitudes of the Israeli general public. Based on qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with Haredi parents of children with Down syndrome, this study explores the interplay between their personal...

Vasectomy is considered a permanent form of contraception for men that can help reduce reproductive inequality. Its underutilisation in the context of the threats it may pose to perceptions of traditional masculinity has been closely investigated, but the lived experience of the procedure itself has been largely overlooked. This paper examines the...

DNA collection raises ethical, legal, and social issues around privacy, consent, participatory science, benefits and risks, biodata governance, and, ultimately, trust. While there is a consensus that DNA biobanks’ success depends on public trust, more evidence is needed regarding the determinants, production, and preservation of such trust. We draw...

Over the past decade, egg freezing has evolved from being an experimental medical technology to become a commercial enterprise, accompanied by heated feminist debate. This study examined the views of Danish and Israeli female students regarding the financing of social egg freezing (SEF) (self, state, employer or family), and their correlation with...

Definition The routinization of prenatal diagnosis is the source of bioethical and policy debates regarding choice, autonomy, access, and protection. To understand these debates in the context of cultural diversity and moral pluralism, we compare Israel and Germany, focusing on two recent repro-genetic “hot spots” of such policy-making at the begin...

The feminist women’s health movement empowered women’s knowledge regarding their health and battled against paternalistic and oppressive practices within healthcare systems. Gender Medicine (GM) is a new discipline that studies the effect of sex/gender on general health. The international society for gender medicine (IGM) was embraced by the FDA an...

Research question What do Danish and Israeli students of both sexes know about age in relation to fertility and gamete preservation, and what are their concerns and intentions for the future in this regard? Design A cross-sectional comparative study of male and female Danish and Israeli students was conducted between November 2018 and April 2019....

Parents in various countries have contemplated having grandchildren from their deceased sons’ sperm; however, posthumous grandparenthood (PHG) has been permitted as a matter of policy only in Israel, leading to a significant body of litigation. Using document analysis of all published court cases involving PHG in Israel, this article is the first t...

Due to its early utilization and increasing ability to provide genetic information, non‐invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) has reinforced social and bioethical quandaries concerning prenatal genetics. This paper presents exploratory findings based on 20 semi‐structured interviews conducted in 2017–2019 with Israeli parents of children with Down syn...

This article examines Israeli discourse on posthumous reproduction (PR) and the related cultural construction of “(un)natural” grief. Based mainly on an analysis of in‐depth interviews with family members who submitted a request for PR, we examine the regimes of justification used by supporters and opponents of this technology. With both sides usin...

Advanced genomic tests in pregnancy, such as chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), provide higher detection rates yet often produce probabilistic and uncertain information. This study aimed to understand how the most knowledgeable patients, i.e., pregnant genetic counselors, act in their own pregnancies, thereby gaining insight into the impact of...

Although the ‘Israeli case’ of bioethics has been well documented, this book offers a novel understanding of Israeli bioethics that is a milestone in the comparative literature of bioethics. Bringing together a range of experts, the book’s interdisciplinary structure employs a contemporary, sociopolitical-oriented approach to bioethics issues, with...

INTRODUCTION It has often been argued that Israelis “do” bioethics – be it genetic engineering of crops, stem cell research, or embryo selection – “the Israeli way” (Prainsack and Firestine 2006). The Israeli approach differs from that of other nations, especially when contrasted with the dominant Western-Christian bioethical discourse with which I...

The scholarly discussion of posthumous reproduction (PHR) focuses on informed consent and the welfare of the future child, for the most part overlooking cultural differences between societies. Based on a cross-cultural comparison of legal and regulatory documents, analysis of pivotal cases and study of scholarly and media discussions in Israel and...

Israeli policy concerning PHR has been decided upon in an expertocratic manner, leaving the voice of the public unheard. Based on 26 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 Jewish-Israeli young couples, this preliminary study provides the first empirical data regarding lay attitudes toward PHR in Israel. Findings suggest major dissimilarities b...

Recently, the Israel National Bioethics Council (INBC) issued recommendations permitting egg freezing to prevent both disease- and age-related fertility decline. The INBC report forms the basis of Israel's new policy, being one of the first countries to regulate and authorise egg freezing for what it considers to be non-medical (ie, social) uses. T...

As in many advanced societies, the age at first birth and the rate of post-menopausal pregnancies in Israel are constantly increasing. Since Israeli university students are the most likely population to postpone parenthood, this study aims at evaluating their awareness of: (i) women's age-related fertility decline; (ii) age-dependent success rates...

'Biological' and 'human' life or 'personhood' are not necessarily identical. While the Catholic Church does not separate the two, concluding that human life commences at conception, Judaism endows the fetus with personhood gradually throughout the pregnancy. Gradualism is also reflected in many Western abortion laws that prohibit 'late abortion'. I...

This paper provides an overview of bioethics governance in Israel through an analytical description of the legal framework for the interface between individuals and biomedical practices. There is no national agency with general oversight of bioethics policy and decision making, and the rules that apply to individual usage of biomedical technologies...

In December 2009, the Israel National Bioethics Council (INBC) issued recommendations permitting egg freezing to prevent both disease- and age-related fertility decline. The INBC report forms the basis of Israel's new policy regarding egg freezing. This article analyzes the medical section of the INBC's recommendations, comparing it with guidelines...

Since 1995, Israel allows social sex selection (SxS) under certain circumstances. However, data regarding the attitudes of potential users are limited. The study population composed of a stratified sample of Israeli married men and women at the reproductive age (women aged 17-45, men aged 17-65), who had 1-2, 3, or 4+ children of the same sex. We c...

This article discusses results of a questionnaire survey of 156 university students in Israel and Austria examining reactions towards the Belated Twins scenario, which entails the artificial twinning of embryos of which one is immediately carried to term while the other one is born later. The scenario resembles a case of human reproductive cloning...

Nazi eugenics is one of the main historical events influencing current popular as well as scholarly discussions of reproductive genetics. This influence, however, is open to different interpretations and social constructions. Based on 44 open interviews with Israeli and German genetic counselors, conducted in 2000–2003, our findings suggest that wh...

This paper reports findings from a comparative study of Israeli and German genetic counsellors' perceptions of the moral standing of the fetus. Data collected through in-depth interviews with counsellors in both countries (N=32) are presented, and their moral practices are analysed. The paper's findings suggest that while German counsellors perceiv...

This paper discusses the policy debate and ethical discussion surrounding pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for sibling donor (SD) in Germany and Israel. Based on an analysis of the regulations and ethical discourse concerning a unique form of new reproductive technology (NRT)--PGD for SD--we complement the scholarly discussion of NRTs in th...

In this article, I report findings from a comparative study of Israeli and German genetic counselors. Specifically, it concerns counselors' attitudes and risk assessments relating to prenatal diagnosis of sex chromosome anomalies (SCAs) such as Klinefelter and Turner syndromes. Data collected through in-depth interviews with counselors in both coun...

Studies have shown that Israeli women and the Israeli legal, religious and medical establishments are exceptionally supportive of reproductive genetics and its outcomes, in the form either of selective abortions based on the unborn child's prospective health, or of prevention of carriers of the same recessive genetic anomaly from marrying each othe...