The Guy Who's Saved My Brother's Life!

Meet Professor Charles Sprung, who heads the General Intensive Care Unit at the Ein Kerem Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre in Jerusalem and  founded and chairs Hadassah's Institute  of Medicine, Ethics and Law, and co-chairs the working group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medical Ethics.

Astoundingly, American-born Professor Sprung also has a degree in law and has commented on Israel's first case of euthanasia.

He explained in an interview with JewishPost.com: "In Western society, disconnecting a ventilator is seen as no more than passive euthanasia ... "In the Western ethical system, active euthanasia is performing a life-ending procedure, such as injecting a fatal drug. The Jewish approach, however, is moulded by halacha or Jewish law, and views things differently.

"In Jewish law, passive euthanasia is withholding treatment - for example, not attaching a patient to a ventilator in the first place. But once a patient is on a ventilator, disconnecting him (that is, withdrawing treatment) is judged as active euthanasia, since it's an action that results in the patient's death. Jewish law thus makes a crucial distinction between withholding and withdrawing treatment that's not found in the Western approach."

Thank Heaven no such decisions have had to be made about any patients injured in the crash on 06 September and as I write, although Julian is still sedated, his condition has improved.

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