Background
In both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish communities, there is an increased rate of a number of genetic disorders such as Tay-Sachs disease, an autosomal recessive disorder that goes unnoticed in carriers, but is fatal within the first few years of life in homozygotes.
Orthodox Judaism generally opposes selective abortion. Although preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is often approved by Halakha, it is a difficult and costly process. By avoiding marriages between "carriers", the incidence of the disorders decreases without having to resort to such methods.
Read more about this topic: Dor Yeshorim
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