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COMPLAINING ABOUT A CHANGING DETAILS OF
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PREGNANT NURSE WHO IS A MEDICAL REPORT IN A
51 NEGLIGENT 54 CASE OF GREAT NECESSITY

9

1 Question 1 Question

A head nurse is lax and negligent in her work, endangering her pa- A physician is often asked by the authorities to give a report about the
tients. The right thing to do would be to complain about her to the state of health of his patient. The patient may suffer as a result of the
administration and cause her dismissal. However, she is pregnant and report, suffering that he does not deserve according to halachah. Is the
if she takes things to heart, she could Heaven forbid, miscarry. Is it physician allowed to change the details in his report or is he required
permissible to complain about her, or should one refrain from doing to adhere to the absolute truth?
so as not to endanger the fetus, who has committed no sin? Here are three examples of the above:
We posed this question to Dr. Uriel Levinger, and here is his an- A Jewish criminal who performed an act of thievery abroad fled to
swer: Israel. His country wants him to be extradited so he can pay for his
The chances of miscarriage due to this type of emotional upheaval crime. The accused asked the Israeli authorities not to extradite on
are very low. Moreover, passing on information of this sort to the account of the fact that he is seriously ill and travel would endanger
administration and having the people on top verify it is often a long his life. His country then requested that a Jewish physician who is a
and drawn-out process, such that it will not necessarily impact on her citizen of that country examine the criminal. Should he confirm that
pregnancy at all. On the other hand, if she is neglecting her duties as the criminal is in fact too ill to travel, they will not demand that he be
head nurse, she can easily come to endanger the lives of her patients. extradited. The physician examined the man and found him to be in

Dr. Uriel Levinger good health. What is he to do now?
Some countries have enacted laws not to bring the deceased for
1 AnsweR 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
Many physicians think that fear and tension do not cause miscarriag- the physician obligated to submit an untrue report so that the dead
es. They claim that studies done during wartime reveal that the per- can be promptly buried, as per the halachah?
centage of miscarriages did not rise, despite the fear and confusion. Some countries require that all visitors be vaccinated for chick-

258 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Changing details of a medical report 2 275

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