Question:
Hi Rabbi, hope you're doing well. In my Judaics class, we are learning how to apply Jewish law to real-life scenarios. I chose to work on this case because it involved something that happened to one of our close family friends, and I always wondered which part of the family was in the right. A 78 year old jewish man is diagnosed with advanced cancer. The doctors said there is no chance he will get better, and he is suffering a lot even with the strongest pain meds. He is in an induced coma since he can't breathe well. Doctors offer him the option of continuing artificial mechanical ventilation, which would prolong his life but only for a short time; he will still feel pain and have little awareness and will still be hospitalized. He asked his family and his rabbi not to be kept alive artificially if there is no hope of recovery. However, his family is divided. Some insist on continuing to do all possible medical support to sustain his life, since they still have hope he will wake up, they are citing the principle of pikuach nefesh (the obligation to preserve life). Others support his wish to stop treatment since that was his wish, and they don't want him to suffer any longer. Since he is also in a coma, they cannot communicate with him.
Answer:
Hello,
Such question are very serious, and depend on the individual circumstances of each case. On one hand we cannot do anything to actually kill him, as he is alive and although he is not functioning, according to kabbalah the person’s soul benefits a lot from just being in this world for a little longer, and gets cleansed by the difficulties that it is enduring. On the other hand, the person is suffering. I would advise anyone in such a situation, to seek out a veteran posek in such a situation and discuss it with him.
Best wishes
