Withholding/Withdrawing Treatment of the Terminally Ill

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Pikuach Nefesh (saving a life), as well as kavod haBriyot (human dignity), are central principles in Jewish law. With 20th-21st century medical advancements, the possibility of taking measures to extend a person’s life is a reality. As a result, the Jewish value of preservation of life, even for a brief period of time, has the capacity to compete with the value of the sanctity of life and limiting suffering. When a patient is terminally ill, experiencing a great deal of physical and/or emotional pain, what does Halakha rule regarding withholding treatment?

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Rosh Kehila Dina Najman is Rosh Kehila of The Kehilah in Riverdale, NY. Prior to this pulpit, RK Najman was the Marta d’Atra (spiritual and halakhic leader) of the Orthodox minyan, Kehilat Orach Eliezer in Manhattan for 8 years. She is the head of the Gemara department at SAR Academy and was a fellow at Drisha, in Nishmat’s Niddah program and is a Hartman Rabbinic Scholar (RLI4). She received ordination from Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber and is a certified Bioethicist through the NYU/Einstein Bioethics and Medical Humanities program and lecturer on bioethics and halakhah in many communities. She has served on the board of the Halakhic Organ Donor Society (HODS) for more than 10 years, is a member of the Uri l’Tzedek Advisory Board, the YCT Advisory Board, the JOFA Advisory Board and is Education Committee chair for the Agunah Task Force.

LM