Israel – Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman instructed the Schneider Hospital to keep alive a brain-dead baby from a haredi family, against the opinion of the hospital’s staff and by utilizing a narrow interpretation of current law on the matter, Channel 10 reported.
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A doctor at the hospital told the TV station that hospital staff was now “essentially tending to a corpse.”
Litzman also reportedly warned the hospital that “it was under a magnifying glass” regarding its treatment of the infant.
The ultra-orthodox minister reportedly leans on a clause in the law on brain death which states that a brain-dead patient comes from a family where disconnecting him from life-sustaining devices goes against the family’s faith, the family has a right to maintain the patient alive.
the first time I see a good thing in isreal, sham on you doctors of shnider hospital & thanks to rav litzman
Our deep prayers to Hashem that to prove brain dead is not actual death, He help this baby wake up and recover fully. What a great Kiddush Hashem this will be and the Tora will be honored even by the not so religous.
Narrow interpatation? It’s right there black & white. Are these journalist blind, or do they only see things that they like?
If someone could please explain something-Hashem should grant the baby a refuh shlema and yes mericales do happen but what I don’t get is how can the gvmnt tell a private hospital what to do, the community at large should put pressure on the hospital to try everything for this baby as long as his heart is beating but I don’t think its a good idea for the govmnt to order them to do it I think that they are going down a slippery slope if whenever a minister and next time it can be a secular left winger can dictate to a hospital who to and who not to save there should be a set protocol in place
I do not wish to take sides in any way, but you really ought to realise that many, many gedolei haposkim hold that brain death really is death. I know there are those who hold otherwise, and am far from being in a position to decide who is right, but you must be fair and recognise there are other opinions in halocho even if you personally follow others.
the question isnt what it appears by utilizing artificial means we can keep the lungs and heart beating but the real question isnt is he dead but are we allowed to keep a body from dieing at its proper time
thes eare no case that a brain dead person got well it is simply impossible.,
Does anybody ever step back and think you are interfering with g-ds will maybe he wants the baby to die and you are interfering.
Yes they are keeping a corpse alive leaving the babies soul in limbo
Nissim do occur, & this is the time when Chassidus says we can & should expect Nissim as we’re in Chodesh Kislev.
While we paskin that life goes after the heart and not the brain, we do acknowledge that brain death is cessation of brain activity. If a child is brain dead, he can not b’derech hatevah recover. A nes niglah would be required for that. If proper tests were done, brain death can be confirmed, conclusively. At that point, a refuah shlaimah is on par with T’chias hameisim.
Litzman again acts like a ill-informed political hack who panders to the chareidi kehillah rather than making decisions as a public health professional. His decision to intrude in a matter where he has zero knowledge is a shame for the government and sets a terrible precedent. It reminds me of when the right wing Republican zealots intervened on behalf of the poor girl in Florida who eventually died anyway but not before they milked the issue for all of its political benefits.
Number 6 – Lo Alaynu but if R”L it was your child whould you pull the plug? How dare you think the family in this case should. I personally know this family. They did not give up nor will they. It is their daughter. Their adorable little wonderful beautiful delicious cute baby girl. A Neshoma. A breathing heart. They cry, they Daven, they have gone to our greatest gedolim who have told them not to C”V pull any plug and have told them they too will Daven for her.
What Hashem has in mind at the end we do not know. Our job is to Daven and NEVER end a life. The Malach Hamoves has that job and with the Aibershters permission he acts. We are not the Maloch Hamoves and as I started I end – if R”L it was your child would you pull the plug and end her life? If yes you are a rotzayach not a Rachamim. it would only be because you couldn’t handle seeing your child in that Matzav and not because it was the Rotzon hashem. Hashem does not need our help to decide when a person is dead. He can handle that one on his own!
Reply to #11 : Actually you are the ill informed hack blogger. All Litzman did was to ensure that the family’s religious beliefs were being respected, as the law dictates and the article mentions, so he apparently has knowledge of the law and you are the one with zero knowledge. Not only on this case do you display your ignorance, you also do it in the case of the “girl” from Florida actually an adult woman. Terry Schiavo did not require any machinery at all to keep her alive. All she required was to be fed just like any other severely disabled person. She was callously executed by a court ordered starvation to satisfy the whim of her “husband” who couldn’t wait to marry his new girlfriend and wanted to expunge any evidence of his mistreatment of her which likely put her into that statein the first place. Her cruel and cold hearted execution which took an excruciating 10-14 days will be an everlasting blot of shame on our country. It’s high time you got rid of all the hatred in your heart and the ignorance in your brain. U’bacharta Bachaim!
To all you self made doctors,
There is no sure Brain Death. There are no scans to prove it. There are muktiple tests that can prove probable braim death. But never definete.
Actually part of the brain is alive & that’s why some organs are still functioning.
As for the lib who mentioned the case in Florida, in that case she wasn’t even on life support, and she was starved to death. Some brain death. Murderer!
what amazes me is that how arrogant those bloggers who want the child to be sustained kept alive against all odds or hope with someone elses money if it would come for them to pay im 100 per cent sure they wouldnt hesitate to let the child die alot of those holier then thou bloggers are 2 faced people talk big with someone elses money
They should keep away these Charedi politicians from important positions like public health, economy, and interior. All they do is use and abuse their powers to pander to the Charedim. The child is dead and now the hospital is forced to waste precious resources from other patients. Not only that, this public health minister who has zero comprehension of modern medicine, has instilled further distrust of doctors within the family and Charedi world, which already thrives on ignorance and fear of “Zionist Doctors.”
Litzman should make private Charedi charities pay for the senseless expenses and not the hospital.
Unfortunately, when there was a case R”L in Wasington, D.C. last year – the child WAS kept hooked up because it was explained to the Hospital that PULLING THE PLUG is the equivalent of killing someone. But, in Israel 2009 it’s much tougher to explain that concept to fellow Jews. Brain death is not the only criteria Frum Yiden look for to confirm death. Once and for all that should be the LAW. PULLING THE PLUG is M U R D E R ! When Hashem decides the time is up – that’s when the person will die.
Sometimes we have to believe in miracles and may Hashem bless this family with a miracle for their baby.