TEL AVIV, July 14, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Israeli court set a precedent Tuesday by allowing a man to be removed from life support without his written consent. The 74 year old man has been in a persistent vegetative state for eight months following cardiac arrest. The man’s son and wife testified at a hearing last week that, in 2001, after an unrelated traffic accident in which he was injured but still conscious, the man said he did not want to be placed on life support, as he would cause the family an undue burden.
Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told LifeSiteNews.com that although there was not enough information to determine whether the removal of life support would constitute euthanasia, the judgement is still an important one. Removing life support without written consent sets an important precedent that could easily lead to abuse, he said. The presiding judge, Uri Goren, emphasized that the ruling applied to the patient in question only, and was not meant as an open invitation for euthanasia. Read the related LifeSiteNews.com coverage of a similar Italian judgement: Italian Court Stirs Up Euthanasia Debate https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jun/02062607.html tv