Jewish Beliefs about Life and Death » Euthanasia and Relieving Suffering: Jewish Views

Relieving suffering: a Jewish duty

In Sanctity of Life, Pikuach Nefesh and Abortion in Judaism you learned that Jews believe life is a gift from the Almighty and that saving a life comes first. This lesson looks at what follows when someone is ill or dying. For the general ideas and the law, see Euthanasia, Assisted Dying and the Law.

Jews believe that helping people who are ill is a mitzvah, a commandment or good deed. Doctors are respected, because the rabbis of the Talmud taught that the Torah gives permission to heal. A Jew who falls ill should seek a cure, and a Jew who can help should do so.

Key terms:

• Mitzvah: a commandment from the Torah, often used to mean a good deed that a Jew is expected to do.
• Bikkur cholim: the mitzvah of visiting the sick. The words mean 'visiting the ill'.
• Rabbi: a Jewish teacher and expert in Jewish law.
• Goses: a person who is very close to death and expected to die soon.
• Progressive Jews: Reform and Liberal Jews, who see Jewish law as something that can change over time.

Caring for the sick

Pain relief is encouraged. Jewish teaching says suffering is not good in itself and that people should work to reduce it. Many Jewish hospitals, hospices and care charities exist for this reason. This links to the idea you met in Creation, Humanity and Tikkun Olam that Jews should help to mend the world.

Euthanasia: why active euthanasia is forbidden

Euthanasia means ending a person's life to stop their suffering. Active euthanasia, such as giving a drug to cause death, is forbidden in Jewish teaching. The main reasons are:

• Life belongs to the Almighty. People do not own their lives, so they have no right to end their own life or another's.
• Every moment has value. Jews teach that even a short or painful life is precious, and that a dying person is still fully a person made in God's image.
• Murder is forbidden. Ending a life directly is treated as taking a life, even when it is done out of pity.

Jewish law also teaches that a dying person, the goses, must not be hastened towards death. Nobody should do anything that makes death come sooner, even by a small amount. The person must be treated as a living human being until the end.

What many rabbis do allow

Judaism does not say that everything possible must be done to keep a person alive at any cost. Many rabbis make a difference between two things:

In the second case the aim is not to kill but to stop prolonging the dying. Pain relief and care carry on. The rabbis do not all agree on exactly where the line falls, so a patient or family should ask a rabbi who knows medical ethics about their own case. This is the same pattern of thinking as in the Jewish teaching on a difficult birth: the decision depends on the situation and on advice from a rabbi.

Different views among Jews

Replies to arguments about choice and dignity

Non-religious people, such as humanists, often argue that a person has the right to choose how and when to die, and that dying with dignity matters. Jews reply in these ways:

• Dignity comes from being made in God's image, not from being healthy or independent. A dying person keeps their dignity and value.
• Choice is limited. Because life belongs to the Almighty, a person is not free to end it, just as they are not free to ignore other commandments.
• The answer to suffering is care. Pain relief, company and hospice care deal with suffering without ending life.
• Pressure could grow. Some Jews worry that weak or elderly people could feel they ought to ask for death. You may remember this as the slippery slope.

Some Progressive Jews answer differently. They say that compassion and respect for a person's own wishes can sometimes lead to supporting assisted dying with strong safeguards.

Exam-style question

Paper 1 style, Judaism.

(a) Identify three ways in which people can help to relieve the suffering of someone who is ill. [3 marks] (AO1)

(b) Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why this religion is against active euthanasia. [4 marks] (AO1)

(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to euthanasia in this religion. [6 marks] (AO1, AO2)

(d) 'People should be free to choose when they die.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks] (AO1, AO2)