THE BABOON HEART

QUESTION:

In a California hospital a baby girl was born with an imperfect heart. The surgeons removed the heart and substituted the heart of a baboon. So far (after two weeks) the infant’s body has not rejected this implant. Yet it is still doubtful whether the implant will be successful: the thought of a human child growing up with a heart of a monkey has created widespread discussion. The question was asked, what would be the attitude of Jewish tradition to such an implant? (Asked by Rabbi M. Robert Syme, Detroit, Mich.)

ANSWER:

The situation is far from simple. There are many apparently conflicting elements involved and it might be difficult to give a definite answer. It will be helpful, however, to mention the various elements in the Jewish tradition which might have bearing on this strange and unprecedented situation.

1. In the first place, the tradition, beginning with the Bible itself, offers strong prohibition against the mixture of breeds and species. In Deuteronomy 22:9, it is forbidden to plant mixed seeds. In Leviticus 19:19, it is forbidden even to wear cloth made of mixed fabric. More specifically, it is forbidden to mix the breeds of animals (Leviticus 19:19). Rashi comments that the prohibition against the mixing of breeds is given to us without any explanation of the reason for it. But Nachmanides, in his commentary to the verse, gives the following reason: To mix the breeds which God has created from the beginning would be to imply that God had made an imperfect job at creation and we are presuming to improve upon His work. We might therefore conclude from the above that Jewish tradition would look with disapproval at the implantation and the embodiment into one species of implants from another species.

2. Besides this general objection to the mixing of species, a special status is accorded to the human heart above all the other parts of the human body. King Solomon in Proverbs 116 said, “Above everything else, guard your heart.” And the Midrash on this verse (Ecclesiastes Rabah 1:38) says that the reason for guarding the heart above every other part of the body is because the heart is so special; it is the source of wisdom, of love or hate, of joy or fear, etc. And the medieval philosopher-poet, Yehudah Halevi (Kuzari 2:36) says in praise of the people of Israel, that Israel among all the nations is like the heart in the human body. From this special status of the heart in traditional lore, one would say that the general aversion to the mixing of animal breeds would apply all the more strongly to the human heart. The idea that the heart is the source of emotions is still a living thought in modern times. We speak of “heartfelt joy” or “heartbreaking sorrow” So even in modern times the ancient thought of the heart as the source of emotions might raise questions such as what feelings, what moods, will this baboon’s heart originate in the life of this little girl.

3. However, there is a strong contrary element to the aversion of this substituting the human heart with an animal heart. This newborn infant could not possibly survive with the heart with which it was born, and it is a general principle in Jewish law that all prohibitions are to be set aside when a body is in danger of death. For example, the Mishnah in Yomah 8:6 says that even when there is some doubt whether an invalid is in actual danger, that doubt is sufficient to set aside all the Sabbath laws (in order to cure the patient). It is an established principle in the law that the danger of death permits us to set aside all prohibitory laws. Now, since this baby was clearly in danger of death, then certainly the question of mixing animal breeds may indeed be set aside. Therefore it cannot be said that Jewish law would actually prohibit this implantation of a bamboo’s heart into the body of a human child. However, the question has been raised whether a human heart could not be found. Of course, there is a general dearth of human organs available in such emergencies but it would be perhaps correct to say that it would be far preferable to have used another human heart, but it cannot be said that this action, though in many ways distasteful to Jewish tradition is, in this crucial situation, actually prohibited.