A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
Mercy killing. Judaism teaches that life is a blessing from *God and hastening death is the equivalent of bloodshed.
The *Shulhan Arukh teaches that a dying person has the same rights as a living person and ‘it is forbidden to cause him to die quickly’. However with the advent of modern technology, some authorities permit the cessation of artificial means of prolonging life when there is no possibility of recovery. Among *progressive Jews there is some discussion of the ethics of voluntary euthanasia, but in general the traditional view is accepted.
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