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1 SuMMaRy and Conclusions

1. A physician is not obligated to confess his error to the parents
since it was done unintentionally and he is halachically exempt
from payment.

2. He is also exempt in the Heavenly Court if he was as careful as
he could be and one can assume that the child will be able to sire
children.

3. If a physician did surgery in an area in which he is not an expert
and damaged the patient, a human court can obligate him to
pay. In our case, however, he is exempt since it is plausible to as-
sume that the child was not damaged. If it is ultimately revealed
that the child is sterile, the physician can be obligated to pay
even by a human court.

4. The physician should not reveal the error until the child devel-
ops. Once the child is of age, he should reveal the facts to the
parents, advise microsurgery, and pay for all the expenses.

5. If government rules obligate the physician to pay even if the
damage was unintentional, then he must confess and pay ac-
cording to halachah as well.
6. If one must smooth out the edges of the severed spermatic cord
in order to fix it, there is concern about the Torah prohibition
of sterilization, unless the spermatic cords are imbedded within
the body, in which case there is no problem.
7. It is possible that the parents are not obligated to inform the
bride that one of his spermatic cords was cut. And this requires
further study.
May the Hashem save us from mistakes and may we see the fulfill-
ment of the Torah verse (Devarim 7:13-14): “And I will bless your
progeny and the fruits of your land.”

Physician cut spermatic duct 2 23 # 20818

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