44 F
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024

Orthodox Jewish Parents Fight to Keep Teen Daughter on Life Support

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

Danielle Zfat during happier times.  Photo courtesy of chabadswcoralsprings.com.
Danielle Zfat during happier times. Photo courtesy of chabadswcoralsprings.com.
An Orthodox Jewish Florida couple is fighting to keep their critically ill 19-year-old daughter on life support, claiming that the hospital she is in wants to pull the plug.

A typically healthy young woman, Danielle Zfat woke up one morning a little over a year ago in her Hollywood, Florida home feeling numb on the right side of her body. Subsequently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, she was admitted as a patient to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital on November 25, and when her condition seriously deteriorated on the first day of 2013, she was placed on life support. But now Danielle’s parents have recruited legal representation to actively oppose the alleged attempts by medical authorities to terminate her life-sustaining care.

“Our way to believe as a Jew,” Aviva Zfat, Danielle’s mother, explained to a television news team, “that everything goes through the heart. As long as the heart beats, the soul is in the heart, and therefore, she is alive.” Speaking through tears, Mrs. Zfat went on, “We just want her to live. When G-d decides to take her, then He will take her. She’s breathing. She’s alive. She’s up there alive, breathing. Take care of my daughter, please. Give her life. Don’t cut her off.”

As Orthodox Jews, Aviva Zfat and her husband Reuven feel duty-bound to follow the halachic directives that prohibit the removal of life support from an individual who is technically alive. Once the doctors at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital revealed their plan to take Danielle off life support on January 3, the couple’s attorneys filed an emergency motion to block such an action.

“There’s no analogy on life that’s safe when you’re talking about life,” family attorney Moshe Rubenstein emphasized. “Life is the highest and it’s our duty to move mountains – in fact, to give our own life to save a life.” Menachem Mayberg, the other family attorney, asserted, “The doctors of the hospital specifically asked her whether or she wanted to fight and continue her life to live. She blinked once for yes.”

In response, the hospital has denied taking any measures to remove Danielle from life support. The hospital officially stated that confidentiality prevented them from discussing the medical aspects of the case publicly, but it added, ““Our hearts and compassion are with the family at this difficult time. As an institution that values deeper caring, we do our utmost to respect religious and cultural beliefs.”

Before she lapsed into her present condition, Danielle would regularly update her followers on social networking sites about her chemotherapy treatments. At one point this past June, she wrote simply, “I miss my hair.” She also displayed courage by maintaining a positive attitude, smiling in photos and urging her friends to support efforts against cancer.

Epitomizing the crisis’ raw human drama, Aviva Zfat openly states that she is offering a deal with G-d to save her daughter’s life. “If I can take her place, I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll switch places. I’m older. I’ve done enough for me. She can have my time.”

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -