Commentary for Avodah Zarah 54:2
אמר רבא א"ר יוחנן ואמרי לה אמר רב חסדא אמר ר' יוחנן ספק חי ספק מת אין מתרפאין מהן ודאי מת מתרפאין מהן
Rava said in the name of R. Yohanan [and some say R. Hisda in the name of R. Yohanan]: In the case where it is doubtful whether [the patient] will live or die, we must not allow them to heal; but if he will certainly die, we may allow them to heal.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
R. Yohanan says that if the Jew will certainly die without the non-Jewish doctor’s medical attention, he should be allowed to heal him (or at least to try). While it is true that that the non-Jew might kill him immediately and thereby cause him the loss of the few hours/days/weeks he has left, we are not concerned with loss of such a short amount of time to live.
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