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.
