Withdrawal of life sustaining treatment for newborn infants from a Jewish perspective.
Jewish law covers all aspects of the Orthodox Jew's life, including questions of life and death. Talmudic texts already discussed the status of the newborn infant and this serves as a guide in modern times when faced with complex questions of withdrawing life from such infants when it is deemed that they will not survive. This paper reviews the essence of Jewish law and provides some directives in answering such questions.
Puah Institute, 19 Azriel Street, Jerusalem 95477, Israel. questions@puah.org.il
Rabbi Gideon
RG
Weitzman
D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D007599:Judaism / Q000523:psychology; D019369:Life; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data