Manitoba Life Support Litigant, Samuel Golubchuck Passes Away

Samuel Golubchuck, the gravely ill Manitoba man whose family has waged a dramatic lawsuit against Winnipeg's Grace Hospital to require continuation of life support over the hospital's objection, has died.

Mr. Golubchuck who was 84, had been on life support since last fall.

Doctors argued that Mr Golubchuk's health had "virtually no chance of improving."

His family, comprised of devout, Orthodox Jews, argued that the hospital's intended cessation of life support would accelerate Mr. Golubchuk's death, contrary to his religious beliefs.

Justice Perry Schulman of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruled in February, 2008 that Grace Hospital was required to maintain life support for Mr. Golubchuk pending trial.

Trial had originally been scheduled for December, 2008.

The trial date was advanced to September 2008, after an application earlier this month by the hospital, in which it argued "the task of caring for Golubchuk is taking a toll on staff, and one intensive-care specialist has already stopped working rotations at the facility in protest."

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Golubchuk Update: Manitoba Life-Support Case to Proceed to Trial

Garry has previously written on the Samuel Golubchuk case, now pending in Manitoba, in which two Orthodox Jewish children have requested that a Winnipeg Court prevent a hospital from removing life support and thus ending their father's life.

After granting a temporary injunction on December 11, 2007, Justice Perry Schulman of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ruled last week that the hospital treating Mr. Golubchuk must continue to provide him with full medical care until a trial can be conducted in the matter.

The Toronto Star reports:

A Winnipeg judge ruled yesterday that an 84-year-old Orthodox Jew will remain on life support until a dispute over whether a doctor can disconnect him without the family's permission can go to trial.

Samuel Golubchuk's adult children, Percy Golubchuk and Miriam Geller, looked elated after Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Perry Schulman ordered Grace Hospital to "provide full medical care" to their father until the end of a trial.

...In outlining his decision, Schulman pointed to conflicting doctors' opinions provided by lawyers on opposing sides.

Physicians at the hospital said Golubchuk has a complete loss of consciousness.

But Golubchuk's lawyer Neil Kravetsky produced a pair of statements from two American doctors, and one suggested that there is no evidence Golubchuk is brain dead.

One of the hospital's key arguments is that physicians have the sole right to make final decisions about treatment – a policy reinforced two weeks ago by Manitoba's College of Physicians and Surgeons after it concluded a long-awaited study of the issue.

The policy says family members must be consulted if a patient is unable to communicate but doctors can make the final decision so long as a family is given a four-day notice of when treatment will end.

Based on other end-of-life cases, though, Schulman noted that right has not been enshrined by the courts.

"It's not settled in law that doctors have the final say," he said.

"In my view, the resolution of these issues is wide open."

We will continue to follow this case and will keep you updated.

- Annie Noa Kenet, Toronto

.....

UPDATE:

Also see Volokh: Samuel Golubchuk euthanasia update

- GJW

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Courts Grapple with Life-Support Removal Applications.

CNN reports that a 29 year old Australian man has died after a Northern Territory Supreme Court judge ruled against his family's request for the continuation of artificial life support.

The court found that continuation of life support for the man, who had been in a coma since a December 5 motor vehicle accident, was futile.

The Canadian Jewish News reports on a similar case, now pending in Winnipeg, Manitoba:

WINNIPEG — The family of an Orthodox Jewish man, 84-year-old Sam Golubchuk, has gone to court to require Winnipeg’s Grace Hospital to continue giving him life-support, including a ventilator and tube feeding in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Sam Golubchuk’s son and daughter, Percy Golubchuk and Miriam Geller retained legal counsel to prevent the hospital from violating their father’s religious beliefs and hastening his death by pulling the plug.

However, the hospital has taken the position that it wants to disconnect Golubchuk’s ventilator and pull his feeding tube because Golubchuck has minimal brain function and there is no hope of recovery.

CTV News also addressed the Golubchuk case:

The court's decision could have a far-reaching impact on Canadians trying to make decisions about their relatives at the end of their lives, said Arthur Shafer, director of the University of Manitoba Ethics Centre.

"Mr. Golubchuk was plugged into life support when they weren't sure whether he would benefit or not -- and once they discovered that he wouldn't benefit, what this family is saying is that if they disconnect him, they're committing murder," Shafer said.

"That means we have thousands of murders every year in Canada done by doctors, which I think is a completely untenable position."

In the majority of cases, Shafer said, decisions are made through dialogue and discussion between family members and physicians. In some cases, hospitals will keep a patient on life support long after it is justified medically to do so, simply to accommodate the family, he said.

But there comes a point, Shafer said, when families must realize that with a shortage of hospital beds, "one person's provision is another person's deprivation."

...There is no word on when the court will hand down its decision.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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