הלכה על נדרים 7:16

Judaism never condones the deliberate destruction of human life except in judicial execution for certain criminal acts, in self defense, or in time of war. One may not even sacrifice one life to save another life. The principles of Jewish medical ethics are based on this concept of the sanctity and infinite value of human life. Judaism is a "right to life" religion. The obligation to save lives is both an individual and a communal obligation. A physician is Biblically mandated to use his medical skills to heal the sick and thereby prolong and preserve life.³Bava Kamma 85a; Maimonides, Commentary to the Mishna, Nedarim 4:4, Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hil. Rotzeah 1:14; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 336. A patient is also (authorized and perhaps) mandated to seek healing from a physician.⁴Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hil. Deot 4:1; Bava Kamma 46b; Yoma 83b. How far do the physician's obligation and the patient's mandate extend? Is a physician always obligated to provide even futile therapy just to keep the patient alive a little longer? Is a patient obligated to accept all medical treatments even if the medical situation is hopeless and the patient has considerable pain and is suffering? Jewish law opposes euthanasia without qualification, and it condemns as sheer murder any active or deliberate hastening of death, whether the physician acts with or without the patient's consent. How does Judaism resolve the conflict between the sanctity of life and the relief of human suffering? Rav Moses Isserles (Rema), in his famous gloss, asserts: "If there is anything which causes a hindrance to the departure of the soul, such as the sound of a wood chopper or a lump of salt on the patient's tongue … it is permissible to remove them because it is only the removal of the impediment to the dying process."⁵Rema, Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 339:1.