The Terri Schiavo Case
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The Schiavo case reminds us of the need to regularly sponsor teaching sessions on Making Sacred Decisions At The End of Life. These sessions need to explore the background of the various texts that enlighten our decision-making process; the halachic categories of goses (someone whose death is close at hand) and t’reifah (the person who is in the process of dying, but whose death is not imminent).
These legal categories imply that different approaches to decision-making may be applied. The teaching resource for this is A Time To Prepare, which may be purchased from the URJ Press. The book lists responsa that pertain to this overall subject as well as a detailed advanced medical directive and durable power of attorney healthcare proxy. The book also contains a section on life data (personal papers, wishes, funeral plans), ethical will forms, rituals, and an introductory essay on the theory of decision-making.
Additionally, the Department of Jewish Family Concerns Committee on Bioethics has produced a series of congregation-based study guides that touch on various aspects of the Schiavo situation. Among these resources are:
- Bioethics Program/Study Guide # 3:
- Termination of Treatment (contains a case study relating to removal of nutrition and hydration)
- Bioethics Program/Study Guide #8:
- Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources
- Bioethics Program/Study Guide #13:
- Spiritual Challenges of Living With Chronic Illness
- Questions and Answers About Jewish Tradition and the Issues of Assisted Deathby Dr. Harvey Gordon
- a Question and Answer format booklet that examines the issues that have emerged from this debate and traces them from a Jewish perspective. Included in this is the Biennial resolution passed in 1995 that states the Union's position on “Compassion and Comfort Care at the End of Life."
