Table 1.

The Various Religions’ Views on End-of-Life Decisions.

  Withhold Withdraw Double Effect a Euthanasia
Catholics Yes Yes Yes No
Protestants Yes Yes Yes Some
Greek Orthodox No No Nob No
Moslems Yes Yes Yes No
Orthodox Jews Yes No Yes No
aDouble effect: Alleviation of pain is allowed, even if it unintentionally hastens death.
bAlleviation of pain is allowed, if it will in no way lead to the patient’s death.

Adapted with kind permission from Springer Science + Business media: Intensive Care Med, The world’s major religions’ points of view on end-of-life decisions in the intensive care unit, Volume 34, 2008, Page 424, Bulow HH, Sprung CL, Reinhart K, et al. Table 1, © Springer-Verlag, 2007.12

RMMJ Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal Rambam Health Care Campus 2014 January; 5(1): e0003. ISSN: 2076-9172
Published online 2014 January 21. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10137