Case Number
CA 506/88
Date Decided
11-24-1993
Decision Type
Appellate
Document Type
Full Opinion
Abstract
Facts: The appellant, Yael, a minor, was born with the incurable Tay-Sachs disease. When she was two, her mother applied to the District Court for a declaratory judgment that when Yael’s condition worsened, she would be entitled not to receive treatment against her will. The District Court denied the application. An appeal was filed to the Supreme Court, and in September 1988, the Supreme Court denied the appeal, without giving its reasons. When Yael was three years old, she died. The following judgment sets forth the reasons for the aforesaid decision of the Supreme Court, and discusses the right of a patient to refuse medical treatment, and the right of a parent to refuse medical treatment for a child.
Held: Under the principles of law accepted in the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, the supreme principle of the sanctity of life and the fact that Yael was not suffering as a result of her terminal illness did not allow any intervention to shorten Yael’s life.
Appeal denied.
Keywords
Constitutional Law -- Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, Family Law -- Parenthood, Jewish Law -- Health
Recommended Citation
Elon, Menachem; Malz, Yaakov; and Ariel, H., "Yael Shefer (a minor) by her mother and natural guardian, Talila Shefer v. State of Israel" (1993). Translated Opinions. 343.
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/iscp-opinions/343
