New partnership brings halachic oversight for fertility treatments to Pittsburgh
'Fertility journeys can be very complex and people shouldn’t have to navigate them alone'
The path to fertility treatment just became easier for observant Jewish families in Pittsburgh. The Jewish Fertility Foundation, UPMC and PUAH — a Brooklyn-based organization which offers guidance on Jewish fertility and halacha — recently announced that hashgacha (a service offering rabbinic oversight of gametes during fertility treatment) is now available at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. Until last month, families seeking such reassurance had to travel to locales such as Philadelphia and New York City.
Hashgacha, explained Dr. Pam Parker, a reproductive endocrinologist at UPMC, is a process that ensures that individuals experiencing fertility treatment receive the “appropriate lineage of the resulting embryos and the resulting offspring.”
Similar to a mashgiach who supervises a site in accordance with the laws of kashrut, trained individuals provide oversight while maintaining adherence to Jewish law, she said.
Shaare Torah Congregation’s Rabbi Yitzi Genack worked with Parker, and representatives of JFF, PUAH and UPMC on the newly established partnerships.
“Jewish lineage is something that’s very important, and genetic lineage should be taken seriously,” he said.
Tamar Poupko Smith, JFF’s program director, told the Chronicle she’s spoken with dozens of women whose desire for halachic oversight during fertility treatments spurred an exodus from western Pennsylvania.
“It was very painful to hear that women had to leave their community, their family, take time off from their jobs, in order to receive their fertility treatments,” Smith said. “We have incredible hospitals locally, and it was a shame that they weren’t able to utilize them, because of this missing piece.”
The partnerships between JFF, UPMC and PUAH, are a boon, she said.
Squirrel Hill resident Rivkee Rudolph has worked with both JFF and PUAH, which trains women to become mashgichot (supervisors).
“Fertility journeys can be very complex and people shouldn’t have to navigate them alone,” she said. “Bringing PUAH here ensures that families that are receiving care here, specifically fertility care, can do it with confidence and know that they’re getting the highest standards of both halacha and medicine.”
Rudolph said she worked with PUAH to train four women who will serve as mashgichot.
Another eight women are in the pipeline to receive similar designation, she added.
According to PUAH, supervisors are “discreet and dedicated women” trained in relevant Jewish law to “monitor the procedure and storage” of genetic material during treatments, including intrauterine insemination, sperm freezing, fertility preservation, frozen embryo transfers, surgical sperm retrieval and in vitro fertilization. Additionally, before entering a clinic or related-facility, supervisors are “required to sign an explicit confidentiality agreement” ensuring parties’ privacy is maintained.
Navigating the intricacies of halacha, confidentiality, fertility and other concerns make for a “complex process,” Rudolph said. Recognizing these challenges and welcoming PUAH to Pittsburgh through this partnership is an act of inclusion, “and I know that’s a value at UPMC.”
Rudolph praised the nonprofit for “getting on board with this,” and said, “Families in Pittsburgh no longer have to choose between the amazing medical care that they can get here and having that peace of mind for halacha.”
Ensuring better access for community members demonstrates the “dedication that we have at the clinic,” Parker said. “This is our way of showing that we want people to be able to access fertility treatment if they need it, and we want them to not have to struggle to do it. To be able to have a local clinic that gives them support — whether it’s emotionally, financially, Judaically — I think all of those things are equally important, and now we can support, locally, the community for that.”
Genack hopes Pittsburghers recognize that although hashgacha at UPMC marks a critical availability of a “very technical, very important resource,” the move is part of a larger effort to promote necessary awareness.
Months ago, Shaare Torah and Beit Kulanu collaborated on welcoming Dr. Aimee Baron, a pediatrician and the founder and executive director of I Was Supposed To Have A Baby, for several weekend discussions concerning infertility, pregnancy loss and reproductive challenges.
“This is another side of fertility,” Genack said. When it comes to building Jewish families, “we want to make sure that people are seen and heard and recognized.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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