Q. Dear Rabbi, does a responsible doctor have to inform his patient that he is terminally ill and incurable?
A. A doctor should take into account a number of facts before he discloses to the patient or his family his findings. First of all, physicians are only human and sometimes make mistaken diagnoses or prescribe incorrect treatment and end up harming and even killing the patient.
Even when the diagnosis may be correct, doctors still don’t have the last word. The Torah repeats the words, Verapoh, Yerapeh, “And heal, he will heal…” (Ex. 21:19). This “repetition” of the word “heal” teaches that doctors are allowed to heal people. Why would I ever think in that healing is forbidden? Because the Torah also says, “I, Hashem, am your Healer.” (Ex. 15:26) Maybe only Hashen is “your Healer;” maybe healing is from God, and no mortal has the right to interfere in this process? Therefore the Torah has to tell us “he [the doctor] will heal…”
Meforshim explain that Doctors are given the right to heal, but they have no right to despair.
Therefore the terms 'terminally ill' or 'incurable' should not be used. A doctor may say, “We have no known cure for this disease at the present time,” or “This case is beyond my expertise,” or “There’s nothing more we can do now” but the word “incurable” should not be used.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller and Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu Shlit'a.
Important Numbers
