A judge has decided to keep an 84-year-old man on life support, after a contentious legal battle between the man’s family and doctors – reported HERE on YWN.
Justice Perry Schulman ruled today that Samuel Golubchuk and his family have a right to have a civil trial on the matter. Schulman also ordered doctors at Grace General Hospital, where Golubchuk currently is being treated, not to withdraw any life support.
Schulman also said that his court order should be added to the patient’s chart so that all physicians and medical staff are aware of his decision.
Golubchuk has been on a ventilator, and using feeding tubes, since November 2007.
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14 Responses
Good always triumphs over evil. Sometimes we are lucky enough to witness it.
Chasdei Hashem! May Mr. Golubchuk, and all cholei Yisrael, merit a rifuah shileimah bimiheirah.
B”H for this chesed. May he live his life lishleimus
Baruch Hashem – an amazing sign of what Chazal told us, that the mazal of adar is strong and court cases of yidden with goyim are more likely to be succesful in it.
baruch Hashem
Tov She’Berophim be’gehenom. Good!
Baruch Hashem!
This case comes from Canada, home of socialized medicine, more specifically from Winnipeg, Manitoba. What makes the judge’s decision particularly interesting is that one of the arguments used by the doctors and bureaucrats who run Canada’s health care system is that, as a result of allocating scarce resources to this gentleman, others are being denied service. The court has, for the time being at least, rejected this power-grab by the doctors and bureaucrats. As American voters are pondering the health care proposals of Hillary and Barack, they might want to consider whether they call for “gate-keepers” with the power to deny life-sustaining treatment to the terminally ill.
All the judge did was preserve the issue for trial, where it would be determined if Canadian public policy favors allowing Mr. Golubchuk to die or not. I’m not so certain that in doing this, the judge isn’t hoping that during the discovery process and other pre-trial procedings, the issue will become moot in light of Mr. Golubchuk’s general health. This judge might very well have spared Mr. Goubchuk and created a situation where he live out all his days on Earth without anyone having to answer the ultimate question; which is fine with me right now.
charliehall, there is a big difference between denying care in the first instance and terminating it after it has commenced.
charliehall:
The difference is that, in Canada, private health care, where a person pays for it himself, is effectively unavailable! It is one thing for insurance companies or the government to refuse to pay: it is quite another where the only care available is denied because of a gatekeeper’s decision. If Mr. G. had been denied care, the family would almost certainly have been denied the opportunity of paying for his care themselves (assuming they had the means) unless he went to some other country (e.g. USA or India).
Excuse me cantoresq, insurance companies don’t deny care. They may not pay for it under a policy which doesn’t cover a procedure. Dr’s may or may not perform a service if they won’t get paid–not insurance companies. I really hope you’re not a lawyer.
aploni1, as i understand it, in Canada doctors working in hosiptals don’t have that option. Moreover, even in the US, most doctors, for very good reasons don’t work for free. Additionally, if you ever read a bill for hospital care, the doctors’ services are usually a small portion of the cost. So precisely what is your point?
Chaim Shmuel ben Pinya, also known as Sam Golubchuk, has been reported as awake, alert, making purposeful movements, and interacting with his family, but alas Dr. Paunovic (not sure how to pronounce this Ukrainian name) and Dr. Kumar wanted him dead… The story of how he has been kept alive is filled with nissim, but we need the hishtadlus of each and every one of you…
What can you do?
1) Write to Agudas Israel thanking them for their enormous efforts;
2) Join his petition (Save Sam Golubchuk);
3) Google “Golubchuk” and when you see new stories about him, such as the Winnipeg Free Press, that contain inaccuracies, write polite letters pointing out the inaccuracies, and pleading on behalf of ‘human rights’ that a disabled man be kept alive, and that the doctors of Manitoba not be given free rein to euthanize patients whose quality of life does not, in their subjective estimation, merit prolongation;
4) Daven for him;
5) Write words of chizuk to this frum man’s frum children, Percy Golubchuk and Miriam Geller, at [email protected];
6) Donate money;
7) Spread these ideas around, to friends and neighbors.
8) The secular Jewish community has provided essentially no support, financial or otherwise, to this family. Feel free to write to the leaders of the Canadian Jewish Congress to ask for an explanation.
9) Write to your own organizations and ask why they are not sending out an email with the name of Mr. Golubchuk and not doing something, anything, to help in this landmark case…If the Golubchuk family loses, not only with Mr. Golubchuk be put to death, but tens of thousands of Yidden and non-Yidden may be put to death when they become cognitively disabled.
Lo sa-amod al dam ray’echa!