Is human placenta kosher?

Question

There is, apparently, something called placenta encapsulation which means making pills out of a placenta postpartum for the purpose of digesting placenta. People claim that these pills offer unique health benefits (I'm not aware of any scientific research that either confirms or denies this claim).

Assuming that there are no additives to the pill and the capsule itself is kosher:

1a- Strictly speaking, is a placenta pill kosher?

1b- Would it matter how the placenta is prepared (dehydrating it, powdered form, cooked, roasted, etc.)?

2- Are any distinctions made between the mother ingesting her own placenta or any other people ingesting the placenta?

3- If there are unique health benefits to ingesting placenta, does that change the halacha in any way?

[1]:

Answer 1

See Rabbi Dovid Kornreich's essay on this in hebrew:

http://www.2ndnatureacu.com/uploads/placeta_teshuva.pdf.pdf

After a thorough examination of the rabbinic sources, R. Kornreich concludes approvingly:

So it would seem safe to conclude that שליא [the placenta] of humans is muttar gamur [completely permitted] acc. to all opinions (besides the Rambam who originally forbade the שליא of בהמה טמאה [an impure animal] which the Tur, Shulchan Aruch, Schach, Kreisi and Chavas Da’as permit.)

This article, it should be noted, only addresses the question on the kosher status of a human placenta.

In regards to the placenta of animals the Rambam in Maachalos Assuros Perek 4 - Halacha 5, writes:

The placenta that is expelled together with the newborn is forbidden to be eaten. A person who eats it, however, is not liable, because it is not [considered] meat.

Answer 2

It is a machlokes/machloket (a matter of dispute). One solution is to dehydrate it, crush it and put it in a pill capsule(s).

For a more detailed/thorough analysis, see:

https://www.quora.com/Is-a-human-placenta-kosher & שאלה: אכילת שליא של יולדת לצורך רפואה