we shouldn’t wait for heaven: how head/body transplantation causes us to reevaluate halakhic conceptions of life and death

In this article, the authors examine how the potential success of head/body transplantation
raises questions as to how halakha—Jewish law and jurisprudence—might draw the line
between determining whether a person is dead or alive. In presenting the primary
Talmudic passages that refer to determination of life and death, and their discussion
among halakhists and halakhic decisors, the authors show how the halakha might determine the demarcation between life and death as it applies to head/body transplants or potentially other innovations in medical technology.