May a doctor end the life of a patient who is suffering and wishes to die?

Euthanasia (‘good death’ in Greek) is the practice of ending a life to spare the person pain and suffering. It was accepted in the ancient world by those who saw no purpose in a life of hardship. The Torah, by contrast, teaches that every moment of life is a gift entrusted to us by Hashem, of infinite and immeasurable worth, and not ours to give away.¹

Killing someone carries the death penalty even if the victim was a goses, already on the edge of death.² Even the suffering itself may be a kindness from Hashem, sent to cleanse the person of their sins.³ When R’ Chanina ben Tradyon was being burned alive, he refused to open his mouth and breathe in the flames to die faster, unwilling to do anything to shorten the life Hashem had given him.⁴ While some early poskim suggested that poisoning is categorized as grama (indirect murder), the halacha is that it’s outright murder.⁵

What about for a non-Jew? There is debate about whether a non-Jew who ends a suffering Jew’s life follows the same or different standards .⁶ If a non-Jew wishes to be euthanized under laws that permit it, some poskim consider a Jew’s assistance as an accomplice to murder and a chillul Hashem, while others permit limited involvement, such as a hospital administrator signing off forms.⁷

Taking one’s own life is treated with the same severity. Such a person is buried apart from others, is not mourned, and kaddish is said for him for the full twelve months.⁸ Yet this status applies only to a clear and deliberate act, excluding a minor, one who was not of sound mind, or one who acted out of duress or fear of a worse death.⁹ Some wished to extend this same leniency to one driven by suffering, but the poskim do not accept it in practice.¹⁰

The Gemara relates that as Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi lay dying in great pain, his maidservant saw that the tefillos of the chachomim were holding back his passing, and she interrupted them so that his soul could depart.¹¹ From here, the Rama rules that while one may not do anything to hasten death, one may remove an impediment that is delaying the soul’s departure. These distinctions are subtle, and a competent rov must be consulted in practice.¹²

See Sources (open PDF)