Position Paper – Treatment of Dementia Patients
1. Introduction Alzheimer’s Disease is a disorder that develops slowly over the course of many years. This disease has no cure as of today and the treatment focuses on slowing its progression. One of the central pathologies of the disorder is dementia. Dementia, an irreversible process, presents mainly amongst the elderly and is accompanied by […]
Position Paper – Forced Medical Treatment
1. Introduction Many factors could bring a patient to refuse medical treatment offered to them. There are patients who have given up hope regarding their condition and who do not desire intervention, potentially even in denial about the possibility of death. Some might even prefer death over their life of suffering. There are patients who […]
Position Paper: Patient Fulfillment of Mitzvot
It is a tremendous zechut for a patient to be able to fulfill mitzvot, to daven and continue in their regular way of life. Aside from the reward one receives from performing a mitzvah, especially in a difficult time, there are also mental and medical benefits. This is true especially for an elderly person in […]
Position Paper – Organ Donation
1. Introduction The donation of vital organs from deceased donors is one of the most impactful ways to save a life. Medical innovation nowadays has enabled us to take an organ from a donor, whether dead or alive, and implant it into the body of another person. Fundamentally, one may differentiate between three types of […]
Position Paper – Reducing Oxygen Therapy from the Ventilator of a Terminally Ill Patient
1. Introduction Can one cease ventilation of a suffering patient when chances of recovery are low or non-existent? Medical capabilities nowadays enable prolonging of life under these circumstances, but is it proper to take this step regardless? Does the obligation to prolong life apply even in situations where there is no benefit and the treatment […]
Position Paper: Using Painkillers That May Shorten the Life of a Patient
1. Introduction A patient suffering from severe pain is generally administered painkillers such as morphine, which are used for pain management, relief, and sedation. However, painkillers may impair respiration, and there is a concern that a patients receiving morphine injections will suffer from respiratory depression that may shorten their life. This begs the question: can […]
Position Paper: Prayer for the Death of a Patient in Severe Distress with No Chance for Recovery
1. Introduction Prayer in a time of need is one of the ways that man expresses his faith and dependence on the Master of the World and demonstrate God’s ability to heal the sick. We generally tend to turn to God in prayer to heal the sick and extend their life, but at times the […]
Position Paper: The Obligation To Be Healed
1. Introduction “It can be logically inferred that one who feels pain will go to a healing place” says the Gemara offhandedly (Bava Kama 46b); in other words the belief that someone who is sick will see a doctor requires no prooftext or evidence. Is the simple and obvious custom, a universally accepted phenomenon nowadays, […]
Position Paper – Drug Administration in Terminally Ill Patients
1.Introduction Terminally ill patients will generally receive numerous types of medications. Some are designated to treat the illness (to slow progression or to combat the disease entirely) and some are administered to improve quality of life (to prevent suffering as much as possible, limit risk of infection, etc.). The question that arises from this is: […]
Position Paper – Artificial Respiration in Terminally Ill Patients
Prolonging life via artificial respiration/ventilation is a life-saving treatment, but in many cases the possibility of ventilation brings up a difficult question: is prolonging this patient’s life truly desired or needed? In some cases, the ventilation will lead to prolonging of life artificially, but with no real benefit to the patient’s life, and all efforts […]
