Washington – A judge heard arguments today in the case of a 12-year-old boy who was declared dead by Children’s National Medical Center, but he held off making a decision until he can hear from the family and medical experts Thursday.
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The parents of Motl Brody, who remains in the hospital’s intensive-care unit, did not attend a hearing this morning in D.C. Superior Court. Motl has been at the hospital since June 1 and was diagnosed with brain cancer. The hospital says that he has no sign of brain activity, meeting the legal definition for death in the District. Doctors declared him dead Tuesday.
The hospital is asking Judge William Jackson to affirm its judgment that the boy can be taken off life-sustaining equipment. Earlier today, the hospital supplied medical records to the family’s attorney.
The judge ordered both sides to return to court Thursday, to allow the family’s attorney, Jeffrey Zuckerman, to review the five boxes of hospital records in preparation for a more extensive hearing. The parents could testify at that time; the hospital has lined up several experts to explain its position.
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Motl’s parents, Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, are challenging the hospital’s pronouncement of death based on the absence of brain activity. Their faith does not define death in that way, and they note that Motl still has respiratory and circulatory functions, albeit with mechanical assistance.
In addition to the emotional issues involving life and death, a second dispute has emerged over when the parents last visited Motl.
Kenneth Rosenau, an attorney representing the hospital, said that based on records from nurses and social workers at the hospital, no family member has visited the boy since late July.
“That is an outright lie,” Zuckerman said. Although the parents, Eluzer and Miriam Brody, have not been at the hospital in the past two weeks, Zuckerman said, they were there more recently than July. He said he did not know exactly when they made the last visit.
Besides “Tefila” and “Syate Dishmaya” is there anything that we the public can do that will really help the family win the case?
The child is dead. His heart is beating only because medication stimulates it to beat. His brain is liquifying. To not bury him is a bizayon hameit.
lets have a million man march in washington
#4 is correct as a matter of Halacha. Where it is clear that the heart is beating only in response to medication and the brain stem is dead, a person is dead al pi din. Were the medication to cease, the heart would stop beating in a matter of minutes once the effect of the medication wears off. Forgive me for seeming harsh and for the crudety of the comparison, but all of you who consider this child to be alive please consider the following: Why is this heart beating artificially more significant as a matter of Halacha than the pirchus of a newly schechted animal?
STOP issuing decisions. That is the job of a Rov. And…. not just any rov, but an honest to goodness posek. Your neighborhood Orthodox rabbi whos simicha is Yoreh Yoreh, is usually NOT qualified for this. Regular smicha is based upon kashrus/Issuv v’heter, not on these matters. For this you need a real posek.
Most of the poskim have already spoken on this and have ruled that we MUST have cessation of respiration and cessation of heartbeat to be declared halachakly deceased. Yes, they understand the entire issue of “brain death” and “brain stem death” … and their hearts do go out to the patients and their families.
However, their job is to decide based upon halacha. And the halacha as they see it is that to disconnect life support, in most cases is murder …. even if the brain stem is called dead, and doctors say the brain if liquifying, etc.
There are a few rabbonim in EY who have ruled differently, but they are a small minority faction. Most rule as above.
That our hearts go out to the family, and that our hearts to out to the patient, and that emotionally we understand that there is no hope of recovery at all, does not change halacha.
The AY is doing something important here. With the spreading re-definition of death as cessation of brain activity, we will have more and more of these problems, and we do need advocacy to help us.
But, more importantly, we need to solve a way to provide payment to cover the costs of complying with Halacha. We need a special “Halachic Insurance Supplement” that will cover a person until rabbonim have paskined he is deceased. Why? Because once the doctors have declared a person brain dead, the regular policies cease to cover the patients these days. The insurance companies say, “We do not insure dead people. Sorry.”
So, the hospital is looking at being stuck with an enormous unpaid bill, behoving them to fight to disconnect.
Consequently, the insurance companies benefit greatly by a doctor’s declaration of brain death, for it gets them off the hook much earlier, saving them many, many tens of thousands, or even as much as a million dollars. So, they pressure the hospital and doctors to declare the patient dead.
That is why I suggest we, maybe through the AY, or maybe through the OU, or some other frum organization, arrange with a reliable insurer a halachic policy or medical rider, or “excess policy” or whatever it is called, and all frum families should purchase it. This way we spread risk, and when one of us is faces with this kind of issue, we can quietly talk to the hospital administration, and explain that OUR COVERAGE WILL NOT CEASE, AND THEY WILL GET PAID. This will take the pressure off them to push to take the patient off life support.
The other suggestion is a fund that we all contribute to. But, the insurance policy can be something that is much more fair, and we can make it politically incorrect to not have one …..
Just a few thoughts. (yes, I know I have voiced this before, but it can’t hurt to bring it up again.)
In the meanwhile, let’s be supportive of the Brody family and of the AY who are helping out. Everone involved is going through so much.
Such a beautiful yiddishe boy. Hashem, giving Motl a refuah is no challenge for you. Please hear the tefilos of Klal Yisroel!!
has anybody just stoped a minute and looked at the picture, my heart goes out seeing such a beatiful child die, its heartbreaking
Please everyone just say tehillim
if theres life theres hope we need to pray for him .Hashem yiracem
A Dead Person’s Heart Doesnt Beat Medicine Or Not Machine Or Not
lets hope the court upholds the sanctity of life.
For all you wishing #4 ’s family ‘well’ regardless if he’s wrong or right…Please! think what’s going on here! Hashem took this innocent young soul and using him as our korban so we should take this apart and do teshuvah!!! Wake up!!!! It’s Moshiach’s times already! Time we all do teshuvah and chas v’sholom not the opposite! Besuros Tovos
What a sweet looking boy. this is a true tragedy to klal yisrael.
every neshama is precious to us!! May we merit to see a true miracle in our time and may Mordechai dov ben Miriam shaindel have a complete refuah shelaima!!
Hashem can do anything! The whole world is his! and the whole world is in his hands!!! may we – all of klal yisrael-always merit to see only health, mazel and bracha untill 120 from Hakadosh Baruch Hu!!!!
I am really upset at this hospital as well as at the lawyer representing this hospital. This hospital has the audacity to think they can make allegations that the parents, who care deeply for their child, have abandoned him. This is not true, and whoever relayed this information is trying to twist the truth, and make the Brody’s out to be terrible parents. There has always been someone as the hospital, either a family member or a friend of the family, since the day the child was admitted to the hospital. This boy deserves to continue to live, and this hospital has absolutely no right to kill this child. Every single Jew should be supporting these parents in their fight to save their child’s life. The hospital wishes to kill their son and we should not let them do it. We need to show our support for the family and continue to daven for a Refuah for Motl Brody, as well as that the hospital should not be able to take away the life of this young child.
Why haven’t we heard anything from The Gedolim about this? With a matter of pikuach nefesh you would expect them to sign a kol koreh to ask everyone to call or write to the hospital and to anyone else who might be able to help.
we all need to say tehillim instead of wasting time posting stupid comments (myself included) i think the amount of time you spend on this website making stupid comments is the amount of time you sould say tehillim