The Position of Jewish Law on Death, Mourning and Euthanasia

Euthanasia has very strict prohibitions under Jewish law. Euthanasia may sound like the word euphonic which means well, good or pleasant and that is the idea behind the concept of Euthanasia or mercy killing. Proponents of Euthanasia believe in a liberating death.

Euthanasia can be broken down into three categories as seen by Jewish law. The first category is eugenics which is seen as morally wrong. The Nazis used eugenics to try and eliminate a race of people because they determined that the race of people or person did not deserve to live anymore.

The second category is called medical euthanasia. This is a Jack Kevorkian style of killing which the person uses the pretense of science and medicine to kill people. In medical eugenics a doctor gives a patient a drug and it kills them. This action could be voluntary or involuntary depending on the will of the patient. Doctor Kevorkian used drugs that the patient did not give consent to end his life. Under voluntary euthanasia, the patient tells the doctor that he wants his life to end and the doctor gives him the pills or an injection to kill himself. Both of involuntary and voluntary medical euthanasia is seen as a sin under Jewish law and is expressly prohibited.

The third category is called passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia refers to someone with holding medicine or information to save a person's life. This third and final category of euthanasia is expressly prohibited. Patients in nursing homes who are neglected by nurses and do not receive the appropriate food or medical treatment and are left to die are also categorized under passive euthanasia.

For any type of euthanasia, Jewish law considers the act of taking one's own life by their own hand or by asking for help, is forbidden and considered a sin. Jewish law puts the highest value on a person's life no matter what age, status or health they are. If a doctor helps a person end their own life then it is also considered a sin on the doctor. Euthanasia is seen as an act of murder. Only God can give and take away life. Proponents of euthanasia say that they are shortening the process of death but Jewish law sees this act as the shortening of one's own life. Every moment and second that a person is living on this earth is precious and cannot be shortened.

Medical doctors take the hypo critic oath which states that they will do no harm and that they will do their best to cure their patients. Jewish law must protect the rights of individuals and family status. If a patient's life is dragging on and the person no longer feels like he is living, it is often the case for the individual to feel the need to die so that his family can resume their normal life. This is precisely why euthanasia is prohibited under Jewish law, so that a person does not feel obligated to die.

As for the responsibilities of a doctor, if the doctor feels that they have done all that they can for the patient and he cannot cure the person, the doctor must step aside and let life take its natural toll. Under no circumstances can a doctor shorten a patient's life.

Another interesting concept under Jewish law is the conflicting responsibilities of a doctor to tell a patient how much longer he has to live. Under Jewish law this is a sin because it is as though the doctor is shortening a person's life by telling him when he is supposed to die. Psychologically this shortens a person's life and studies have shown that patients live longer when they are not told how much longer they have to live. When the doctor tells a patient how much longer they have to live, the patients tend to give up hope of getting cured from the disease and living longer. The patient gives up the desire to continue living.

Finally, there is a stage called "Goses" which means that a person is within 72 hours of their death. There are different considerations for a patient about to die than for a terminally ill patient. Nurses or doctors are not supposed to touch the person because of the fear of ending his life by even seconds by zapping his strength. This conjures up the metaphor of a flickering flame. If a flame is flickering, even the slightest movement by a person might put the light out.