Rabbis Oppose 4,
Assisted Suicide

JULIE WIENER
StaffWriter

T

he Michigan Board of
Rabbis opposes physician-
assisted suicide, while favor-
ing palliative care such as
pain control. and symptom manage-
ment. But it's keeping mum on
Proposal B, a ballot initiative to legalize
physician-assisted suicide, and other leg-
islation on the issue.
That's the gist of a one-page state-
ment issued earlier this month by the
board, composed primarily of local
Reform and Conservative rabbis.
"Judaism demands of us that we be
zealous in protecting life, which is the

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sacred trust from the Almighty," says
the statement. "This principle, however,
does not always extend to the prolong-
ing of life by all means available. A shift
from curative to comfort care is at a cer-
tain point appropriate."
The statement urges Jews facing ter-
minal illness to seek out spiritual guid-
ance and support from rabbis and notes
the importance of "being by the side of
the precious soul who is in pain."
Michigan Board of Rabbis Executive
Director Rabbi Marla Feldman said the
board avoided taking a political stance
because "there's a difference among rab-
bis on what the role of government
should be on this issue."
"Whether there should be a law for
or against this is different from what
Jews should do coming from a Jewish
perspective," said Feldman.
Acting individually, however, two
rabbis, Daniel Nevins of Adat Shalom
Synagogue and Chaim Bergstein of Bais
Chabad of Farmington Hills, joined
over 100 other local religious leaders in
signing a full-page advertisement in last
Sunday's Detroit News and Free Press
declaring opposition to Proposal B.
The Michigan Board of Rabbis
rarely issues public statements, said
Feldman. "This is fundamentally a
moral, ethical issue and one in which a
religious voice has a unique perspective
to be shared," she said.

❑

10/30
1998

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