SUICIDE, ASSISTED SUICIDE, ACTIVE EUTHANASIA

4. Jewish responsibility to the weak and the vulnerable in society is a significant focus of Torah legislation and prophetic critique of Israelite society. Rabbinic literature using the concept of imitatio Dei , emphasizes that thejust society is one in which those who are weakest are protected, cared for and granted dignity. See the section"Foundation of Jewish Ethics" in Contemporary Jewish Ethics edited by Menachem Kellner New York , 1978 pp. 125-161. See Lev. 19:1 ff"Say to the congregation of Israel you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy." Deut. 10:18"He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Deut. 24:19-21"When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow." Deut. 27:19"Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, Amen." Ps. 146:9"The Lord watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin." Jer. 22:3"Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place."

5."First, the abortion parallel. In the 1960’s, legalized abortion was proposed for the"hard cases," which were defined in different ways by different people. But, today, few can deny that, however defined, abortion is not limited to the"hard cases." In fact, rape, incest, gross genetic defect, and preservation of the mother’s life make up less than 5% of the 1.5 million abortions performed annually in the United States . Rosenblum and Forsythe,"The Right to Assisted Suicide: Protection of Autonomy or an Open Door to Social Killing" Issues in Law and Medicine, Vol. 6#1, 1990, 26. This journal has a very strong"right to life" orientation. However, the issue it raises is of real importance. A significant concern in the literature is the"slippery slope.” In many ways this is the most difficult aspect of the issue to discuss. A central concern is not only the impact on individuals but on society as a whole. Does approval of suicide, assisted suicide or voluntary active euthanasia in certain specific, ethically justified, cases make the weak more vulnerable? Is our commitment to the sanctity of human life diminished when we condone the killing of innocent people? Is the connection between the Shoah and euthanasia so inexorable, that it makes any endorsement of"the right to die" a path to mass murder? Does the"rational" decision of a person to end his/her life translate into an obligation on the part of others to do the"right thing" and end their lives?

6. The ambiguities inherent in the terminology as well as the ethical situation are discussed by Joseph A. Edelheit"The Ambiguity of Suicide and the Right to Die" Machshavot: A Journal of the Chicago Board of Rabbis Summer 1992 pp.5-10. The historical analysis of suicide in Droge and Tabor’s book A Noble Death: Suicide and Martyrdom Among Christian and Jews in Antiquity provides an understanding of how contemporary attitudes developed. Sidney Goldstein’s work Suicide in Rabbinic Literature provides a detailed discussion of the halakhic attitude toward suicide.

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