Pulling the plug: What does Jewish law say about 'passive euthanasia?' "In general, Jewish law supports employing palliative measures to reduce suffering, such as those utilized at hospices. This even includes gradually increasing morphine injections as long as one intends to reduce pain and not to hasten a patient’s death. At the same time, Jewish law prohibits suicide or so-called “mercy killings.” For this reason, Israel and many other countries do not permit active euthanasia or even the slightly more moderate model of physician-assisted suicide whereby healthcare professionals provide the necessary tools for the patient to take his own life. However, Jewish bioethicists significantly disagree [with each other] regarding “passive euthanasia,” which can constitute either the withholding or withdrawing of treatment from the terminally ill. In the 16th century, Rabbi Moshe Isserles codified three major principles regarding the treatment of patients approaching death (goses): (1) One should not cause them to die more slowly; (2) One may not do any action that hastens the death; (3) One may remove something that is merely hindering the soul’s departure. Unfortunately, these principles remain subject to different interpretations..."
jstor.org
Fye, W. Bruce (1978). "Active Euthanasia: An Historical Survey of Its Conceptual Origins and Introduction into Medical Thought". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 52 (4): 494. JSTOR44450518.
