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has given his consent. He will then not violate,“Do not put an obsta-
cle before a blind man.” This will possibly not even be considered as
causing murder, since he is not giving instructions to kill him, but is
merely confirming that the patient has consented.
All this applies only to a hospital where only gentiles are hospital-
ized. In a hospital where Jews are also treated, chas veshalom that this
should be allowed, for this will lead to permitting mercy killing of
Jewish patients well, and for us this considered actual murder, besides
the chilul Hashem it would entail.
ɳ Response to Question Two
We shall now discuss the second question, regarding authorizing
abortions. This is a far more serious question that the previous one,
for a non-Jew who performs an abortion [without the mother being
in danger] incurs the death penalty (Sanhedrin 57b), and his sin is
greater than that of a Jew who does the same thing, who is only liable
for death by Heaven’s agency, not by beis din.8
None of the grounds for leniency that apply to euthanasia are
relevant to abortion, which constitutes murder in every respect. It is
therefore correct to refrain from accepting any position that involves
the sin of causing non-Jewish physicians to violate the prohibition of
killing fetuses.
In regard to aborting a fetus which is less than forty days old the
Beis Shlomo in his reponsa (Choshen Mishpat,132) and Achiezer (3,
end of 65) say that a non-Jew is not liable. When the mother is endan-
gered, the Machaneh Avraham (2, Yoreh De’ah, 19) permits abortion
but the Minchas Chinuch (236) forbids it and when the danger is
uncertain, even the Machaneh Avraham forbids it.
If a Jewish physician finds himself in a situation where he is com-
pelled to authorize abortions, and refusing to do so will cost him his
8. See the comments of our teachers, the Meshech Chochmah (parshas Vayakhel),
the Panim Yafos (parshas Shemos) and, Zechusa D’Avraham, Discourse for
Shabbos Hagadol, which discuss this at length.
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