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COMPLAINING ABOUT A
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PREGNANT NURSE WHO IS
51 NEGLIGENT
1 Question
A head nurse is lax and negligent in her work, endangering her pa-
tients. The right thing to do would be to complain about her to the
administration and cause her dismissal. However, she is pregnant and
if she takes things to heart, she could Heaven forbid, miscarry. Is it
permissible to complain about her, or should one refrain from doing
so as not to endanger the fetus, who has committed no sin?
We posed this question to Dr. Uriel Levinger, and here is his an-
swer:
The chances of miscarriage due to this type of emotional upheaval
are very low. Moreover, passing on information of this sort to the
administration and having the people on top verify it is often a long
and drawn-out process, such that it will not necessarily impact on her
pregnancy at all. On the other hand, if she is neglecting her duties as
head nurse, she can easily come to endanger the lives of her patients.
Dr. Uriel Levinger
1 AnsweR
Many physicians think that fear and tension do not cause miscarriag-
es. They claim that studies done during wartime reveal that the per-
centage of miscarriages did not rise, despite the fear and confusion.
258 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
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CHANGING DETAILS OF
A MEDICAL REPORT IN A
54 CASE OF GREAT NECESSITY
9
1 Question
A physician is often asked by the authorities to give a report about the
state of health of his patient. The patient may suffer as a result of the
report, suffering that he does not deserve according to halachah. Is the
physician allowed to change the details in his report or is he required
to adhere to the absolute truth?
Here are three examples of the above:
A Jewish criminal who performed an act of thievery abroad fled to
Israel. His country wants him to be extradited so he can pay for his
crime. The accused asked the Israeli authorities not to extradite on
account of the fact that he is seriously ill and travel would endanger
his life. His country then requested that a Jewish physician who is a
citizen of that country examine the criminal. Should he confirm that
the criminal is in fact too ill to travel, they will not demand that he be
extradited. The physician examined the man and found him to be in
good health. What is he to do now?
Some countries have enacted laws not to bring the deceased for
burial until forty hours after death, which is contrary to halachah, as
our Torah says “He shall be buried the same day” (Devarim 21:23). Is
the physician obligated to submit an untrue report so that the dead
can be promptly buried, as per the halachah?
Some countries require that all visitors be vaccinated for chick-
Changing details of a medical report 2 275
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