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5 Iyar 5759 - April 21, 1999 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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An Israeli Judge Permits "Mercy" Killing

by Betzalel Kahn

A precedent establishing verdict, which permits the killing of an invalid, was set last week in Tel Aviv's regional court. The decision, which was made known last Friday in Yediot Acharonot aroused much astonishment.

The invalid in question is a 91-year-old woman who is completely out of touch with her surroundings, unable to communicate, and defined as a "vegetable" as the result of her having suffered a cerebral stroke. Despite all this, her heart and lungs are functioning well and independently, and are expected to continue doing so in the near future. However, since she is unconscious, she is unable to swallow food. The court's decision states that the patient may be detached from her feeding apparatus and thus she will starve to death.

In his decision, Justice Moshe Telgam said, "The case of a patient whose `vegetative' state can be expected to continue to the end of his life, and who can not feed himself has never yet been dealt with by the Israeli courts."

It should be noted that the representatives of both the Histadrut Kupat Cholim, which treated the elderly woman, and the Health Ministry, opposed the request of her son to detach her from the feeding apparatus. They claim that she isn't on the verge death, and that if she isn't starved she will not die from her illness immediately since her respiratory system and heart are functioning normally.

In his decision, Justice Telgam wrote: "There is a danger that the doctors who detach the woman from her feeding apparatus will be accused of committing a crime, according to the existing law. But this verdict will help them. The court cannot guarantee that suits or indictments won't be filed against the doctors. But this ruling will support them in the court . . . Stopping the artificial nourishment of the patient won't cause her pain, because she is unconscious."

Chareidi observers noted that the woman is not able to communicate and to make her own wishes known. Moreover, her state makes it impossible to determine whether she feels pain or not. If she would not suffer if not fed, she would certainly not suffer if fed. It seemed that the parties most uncomfortable about her continued living were her surviving families.


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