Editor's Note: The following is a story about the
Halachic Living Will developed by Agudath Israel of America
for people living in the United States. Because of the
sensitivity and importance of the issue, it is worthwhile to
investigate the issue as it applies to other communities as
well. Yated would be happy to update our readers on
the results of such research.
The Phoenix Community Kollel, working together
with Agudath Israel of America lawyers, has helped a World
War II veteran avoid a situation where he might have been
allowed to die against his wishes and against halacha.
Members of the kollel became aware that a member of
the community, a gentleman in his 90's, had signed an
important document without full comprehension of its
implications.
Officials at the local Veteran's Hospital where the man
works as a volunteer had offered him the standard Veteran's
Administration "living will" -- a legal document prescribing
what actions should or should not be taken in the event the
signatory is incapacitated and unable to make decisions
about medical treatment -- and he signed on the dotted
line.
Though the veteran did not realize it, with his signature he
had waived his right to a host of common medical life-
sustaining procedures, including CPR, blood transfusion and
dialysis. Jewish religious law, which deeply values life,
generally requires such interventions even for elderly
patients whose prognosis is poor.
When Rabbis Raphael Landesman and Zvi Holland of the Kollel
realized what was spelled out in the "living will" that had
been signed, they lost no time in contacting Agudath Israel,
which has long and broad experience in a number of legal
issues that touch on religious observance and belief,
including those with bearing on "end of life" situations.
Agudath Israel's associate general counsel Mordechai Biser
apprised the Phoenix rabbis of the existence of a legal form
that would protect the veteran's religious rights. The
"Halachic Living Will," which was developed by Agudath
Israel in 1990 and has been adapted for use in all fifty
states, helps ensure that halacha governs all medical
treatment decisions when the patient is unable to make them
himself.
Rabbis Landesman and Holland subsequently met with the
veteran to explain the workings of the Halachic Living Will.
With qualified witnesses and a notary public present, he
chose to revoke the Veteran Administration document and to
sign the Agudath Israel living will.
Rabbi Biser notes that Agudath Israel is in the process of
updating the Halachic Living Will to ensure its legality in
every state, and plans to make the new version widely and
easily available to the Jewish public. It is an important
service, he stresses, because life is becoming increasingly
devalued by contemporary society. "Jewish law, however," he
says, "is clear: every life and every moment of life is
invaluable.
"And because of the Phoenix Kollel members' vigilance and
concern for others, one Jew was able to choose life."
