eral states are currently consid-
ering legislation that would make
doctors who assist in the suicide
of competent patients immune
from prosecution.
And even in states like New
York — where the task force's
recommendations will likely head
off any changes for now — exist-
ing laws already contain ele-
ments that, in Agudath Israel's
view, constitute a serious erosion
of respect for what it calls the
"sanctity of life" and could impel
an inexorable slide down a "slip-
pery slope" toward the legal per-
missibility of one person actually
taking away the life of another.
It has long been the law in
New York, for instance, that a
person has the virtually unfet-
tered right of "personal autono-
my" to forgo or discontinue
life-sustaining measures — even
when the prognosis is that such
treatment would lead to full re-
covery. And over the past few
years — despite the strenuous ob-
jection of Agudath Israel and oth-
ers — the right to stop medical
treatment was, in various stages,
extended even to third parties,
"All human life is
sacred."
— David Zwiebel
and limited by fewer and fewer
restrictions.
Currently the law goes so far,
in fact, as to allow a surrogate ap-
pointed by a patient to make vir-
tually any life and death decision
that the patient himself could
make, irrespective of the medical
prognosis, even if the patient's
wishes are not known.
The New York State Task
Force — despite its stand on doc-
tor-assisted suicide — had itself
proposed many of these innova-
tions. In fact, the same panel has
recommended a new measure
that would go still further, al-
lowing third parties to make de-
cisions that will result in a
patient's death even when the pa-
tient has not personally appoint-
ed such a person as a surrogate.
It would also, for the first time,
include the withholding or with-
drawal of food and water as one
of the decisions a surrogate may
make even without knowledge of
> the patient's wishes, and would
allow doctors to withdraw life-
sustaining treatment in the ab-
sence of a surrogate if they
determine that the patient would
die within a short period in any
case.
Given the pressure of current
trends and the impetus of the
task force's own policies, David
Zwiebel, general counsel for Agu-
dath Israel, is not sure how long
the line drawn at assisted suicide
will hold up. He points to the ar-
gument made by the presiding
MEDICIDE page 40
At Huron Valley Hospital, this
isn't the only way we listen to you.
In today's world
of medicine, it's
not unlikely for
a patient to be
seen as a series of heart
beats of lab tests. Or
merely a name on a chart
***We, however, prefer to view our patients
human beings. Each with a rather large
spectrum of fears, needs and questions. Which, as
a smaller hospital, we can calm, meet and answer
in a manner that's not only unusually personal, but
unusually caring.
course as a part of The Detroit
d with Wayne State
are anything but small.
as our practitioners, are
rnationally for their excellence.
e vi dent
M
tn
37
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unit,
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H uron
meet
sician, 6411 (810) 360-34W.
w easy it is to get
care, right here.
Huron Voliey Hospital
1601 E CornitmLe R d.
Courrnexeiwil
Wayne State University
DMC Huron Valley
Hospital