[TREATMENT OF A PATIENT IN A TERMINAL CONDITION]

It is generally understood that Jewish law requires every effort to be made to extend the life of a terminally ill patient using routine treatments, whether he is conscious or not, and whether he wants his life prolonged or is opposed to it. The "Law for Patients Wishing to Die" proposes this approach with slight variations. This article discusses the patient who wishes to die from a Jewish viewpoint, illustrating that this is not the only Jewish approach. The role of the doctor is to cure and not to extend a life of suffering in any case. If the doctor cannot cure him, he should respect the wishes of the patient who does not wish to continue to suffer, by stopping life-prolonging treatment and providing only pain-reducing treatment. This law is correct not only in cases where the patient is aware of his situation but also in cases where the patient is comatose and has no realistic chance of returning to life. Ideas from the Talmud, from the Shulchan Aruch, and from the rulings of many poskim (rabbis) confirm that Judaism places great emphasis on personal autonomy and on limiting medical intervention to situations of need. The authors of the article call for the law to be changed in this respect.