If a woman has been in a coma for two years would Jewish Law permit disconnecting her life support in these circumstances? She was not given any other options when she was first admitted to the hospital, was on a respirator and gets her food from IV nutrition, and therefore, her husband feels as though he has no options other than to pull the plug. It has been two years of constant suffering and sadness for both him and her parents. What would Jewish Law say?
This is an incredibly difficult and terrible situation.I want to first acknowledge the pain and suffering that families go through making these agonizing decisions.There are few easy answers in life and certainly I in no way mean to assert that my response will be the proper response for every instance.I think the best we can wish for folks who struggle with this kind of grief and loss is comfort and compassion for whatever decision they make.
In Jewish tradition, the preservation of life is of upmost importance.The rabbis teach that piku’ah nefesh (the preservation of life) is one of our primary values.The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate Yoma discusses the many circumstances where a person may even violate the laws of Shabbat in order to save a life.Our tradition (Exodus 21:19) also mandates that medical treatment be given to someone who is in distress.We owe it to ourselves and to others to provide care.As a teacher of mine used to say, “God’s miracles don’t just happen on their own!”
The question before us also involves the quality of life – what kind of life is this woman living?In rabbinic tradition, a person approaching death whose quality of life has evaporated is called a goseset.One of the halahot related to a goseset notes that we may remove impediments to death.An example given in Sefer Hasidim (a 13th century book of Jewish teachings) teaches that, “if a person is dying and someone near his house is chopping wood so that the soul cannot depart, one should remove the chopper from there.”
I live in Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide is a legal practice.And I have sat beside families as they said goodbyes and held one another and watched a loved one slip from this world in to the next.It is a painful moment.But I also see that there is compassion and comfort in the ending of constant pain.I believe that no good can come from suffering without the hope of recovery to some meaningful life.At some point, our medical technology improved to such an extent that we can keep the body functioning even after the soul is ready to depart.Although Jewish tradition demands that we preserve life, it never envisioned a time when we could preserve life indefinitely without concern for the quality of that life.
Halahah in this case would allow for the removal of life support.
While I certainly see the pain and suffering, taking a human life is anathema to Judaism. This person is alive, and if she is unplugged from life support, that would be killing her. As long as the centers of her brain that control respiration are functional, she is still a person. It is in God’s hands whether and when she is to die. The doctors should test whether she has any reaction to noxious stimuli, such as a deep sternum rub, and through use of something called the apnea test whether her breathing centers are functional at all. If both tests are negative, then many would allow her to be declared dead, but if there is a reaction to these tests on her part, then she is still alive and we must always be mindful that human life is infinitely valuable and precious.
Answered by: Rabbi --- Not Active with JVO Suspended
If a woman has been in a coma for two years would Jewish Law permit disconnecting her life support in these circumstances? She was not given any other options when she was first admitted to the hospital, was on a respirator and gets her food from IV nutrition, and therefore, her husband feels as though he has no options other than to pull the plug. It has been two years of constant suffering and sadness for both him and her parents. What would Jewish Law say?
By Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu
Deciding on care and treatment at the end of life is often a complicated and heart wrenching process. Each case brings unique and individual questions and considerations. Jewish law can be contradictory and different texts can be brought to back up different opinions as to what treatment course to follow or when to discontinue treatment. Real life decisions should be made in consultation with healthcare professionals and a rabbi learned in the bioethics of end of life care.
While Jewish law holds up preserving life as a strong value, so too the law recognizes that there is also a time to die. Furthermore, there are times when human actions should not prevent death from occurring. Two cases from come to mind:
Talmud Ketubot 104a
On the day that Rabbi Judah was dying, the rabbis decreed a public fast and offered prayer for heavenly mercy (so that he would not die.) Rabbi Judah’s handmaid ascended to the roof and prayed (for Rabbi Judah to die.) The rabbis meanwhile continued their prayers for heavenly mercy. She took a jar and threw it from the roof to the ground. They stopped praying for a moment and the soul of Rabbi Judah departed.
In this story, the Rabbi Judah’s maid in effect pulls the plug. She saw that he was suffering and that his friend’s prayers were the only thing keeping him alive. By smashing the jar and distracting his friends from their prayers, she allows him to die. The Talmud approves of her actions.
Sefer Hasidim 723 states:
One may not prevent a person from dying quickly. For example, if there are factors preventing a speedy demise, such as a man chopping wood in the vicinity of a man’s home, and the noise of the chopping prevents the soul from escaping, we remove the chopper from there. Likewise we do not place salt on his tongue to prevent death.
This text, like the Talmud text before, makes it clear that when someone is close to death, we must let them die. Preserving life at all costs is not the right course of action to take. “We do not place salt on the tongue” is understood by many to be an allowance from Jewish law to discontinue medical treatment.
So, given the case above, would Jewish law permit taking this woman off of life support? Yes, Jewish law would permit it.
If a woman has been in a coma for two years would Jewish Law permit disconnecting her life support in these circumstances? She was not given any other options when she was first admitted to the hospital, was on a respirator and gets her food from IV nutrition, and therefore, her husband feels as though he has no options other than to pull the plug. It has been two years of constant suffering and sadness for both him and her parents. What would Jewish Law say? Thanks.
There are several stories recorded in the Talmud and later rabbinic literature which illustrate Judaism’s opposition to euthanasia, even in the face of a lingering and painful death.One such story is told of Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion, who was martyred at the hands of the Romans in the second century CE.The Talmud relates, in Avodah Zarah 17b, that the Romans wrapped him in a Torah scroll and burned him at the stake. Seeing his great pain, his students cried out to him to breathe in the flames and so die more quickly.But he replied, “It is better that God who gave me my life should take it, and I not kill myself.”
On the other hand, Jewish tradition also teaches us that it is not for us to prolong life beyond its normal course.The story is told of the end of the life of the great sage, Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi.His colleagues and disciples were gathered in the courtyard of his house, praying for him.He was dying slowly and in great pain, but the prayers of his followers were keeping him in this life.Finally, a maidservant took pity on him.She broke a plate in the courtyard, startling the men at prayer and disrupting their prayers just long enough to allow his soul to slip away.(Ketuvot 104a)
From these and other stories we learn that we should neither artificially hasten, nor artificially prolong death.With this in mind, the Reform Movement recognizes that sometimes it is appropriate to refuse extraordinary measures to preserve a life beyond the point of meaningful life, and even to remove devices which are artificially maintaining a life that would otherwise come to an imminent end.
The Reform Movement has several very good resources to help patients and their families deal with these very difficult end-of-life issues.First is a book called A Time to Prepare, revised and edited by Rabbi Richard Address.From the Union for Reform Judaism website: “Newly revised, A Time to Prepare is both an source of information and a workbook to help consolidate and record all the information you or your loved ones will need to handle critical illness or death. Topics include: durable power of attorney; organ donation; wills; ethical wills; rituals for saying "good-bye", and more.” (http://urjbooksandmusic.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1).
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