The Secret of Caring for Mr. Golubchuk

‘We are (not) the master of our body’: elderly Jewish women's attitudes towards euthanasia and assisted suicide

“…Given the specific way people with diverse religious and cultural backgrounds deal with health, disease and ethical dilemmas in healthcare, contemporary Western societies must be concerned with offering culture-sensitive care (Gesundheit 2010, Jotkowitz et al 2010a, 2010b. Indeed, in contemporary Western healthcare the need felt to deal with cultural and religious plurality is high, which is, for instance, evident from different hospitals' steady requests to our centre 1 for training and clear guidelines in this regard.…”

“…This implies developing healthcare policies which stress the significance of adequate training of health care professionals 'in communication skills and cross-cultural medicine' (Jotkowitz et al 2010b) and therefore approaching patients holistically, giving considerable attention to their (cultural) background, life stories and religious convictions, which may have a vast impact on concrete medical decision-making. Given the increasingly multicultural and multi-religious outlook of contemporary Western societies, this is a huge but indispensable challenge, as this undoubtedly contributes to providing optimal care.…”

Orthodox Jewish perspectives on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment

“…This is abundantly clear from the case of Samuel Golubchuk, a Canadian Orthodox Jew. [69][70][71] Being on life-support during the final months of his life, the hospital attempted to withdraw his mechanical ventilation and tube-feeding, an action which was vehemently opposed by his relatives, as they considered it contrary to their religious beliefs. Being the subject of great media attention, the case gave evidence of the need to approach patients with appropriate sensitivity to their culture and worldview.…”

‘There is a Time to be Born and a Time to Die’ (Ecclesiastes 3:2a): Jewish Perspectives on Euthanasia

“…The huge importance of culture-sensitive care, which evidently entails respect for a patient’s autonomy, is demonstrated by the reflections of Jotkowitz et al (2010a, b) and Gesundheit (2010) on the Canadian Golubchuk case. They point correctly to the importance of training of healthcare professionals “in communication skills and cross-cultural medicine” (Jotkowitz 2010b), a requirement which is indispensable given the multicultural and multireligious outlook of contemporary societies.…”

“…The huge importance of culture-sensitive care, which evidently entails respect for a patient’s autonomy, is demonstrated by the reflections of Jotkowitz et al (2010a, b) and Gesundheit (2010) on the Canadian Golubchuk case. They point correctly to the importance of training of healthcare professionals “in communication skills and cross-cultural medicine” (Jotkowitz 2010b), a requirement which is indispensable given the multicultural and multireligious outlook of contemporary societies. Indeed, religion and world view have influence on the way people deal with illness and ethical dilemmas, for instance in health care (Gielen et al 2009; Coleman et al 2007; Wenger and Carmel 2004; DeKeyser Ganz and Musgrave 2006; Margalith et al 2003; Musgrave et al 2001; Ejaz 2000; Leichtentritt and Rettig 1999; Carmel and Mutran 1997).…”