Holocaust survivor agonizingly begs for mercy after doctor takes her off morphine
The 85-year-old begs for mercy in Assaf Harofeh Medical Center from her doctor, who takes her off morphine since 'she only has a few days to live.'
The daughters of Holocaust survivor, Tova Pollack, 85, who passed away two months ago due to a terminal illness, filed a complaint with the Ministry of Health's Ethics Committee for medical issues, claiming that despite their late mother's ceaseless begging, her rights for a death with dignity were not honored.
During her last days in the hospital, she suffered from excruciating pain, until she was reduced to pleading with the doctors for mercy.
Pollack was hospitalized in December 2016 at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tzrifin. Pollack, who was terminally ill, had signed a DNR. "The doctor decided to prescribe morphine in order to alleviate her pain," recalled Pollack's daughter, Malka Shimonovich.
"It was clear there is nothing more to do and that this was the end, and that the only thing needed was to let her pass as painlessly as possible," added her other daughter, Leah Ben-Adiva.
"She always said she didn't want her life prolonged, and that she would rather die with dignity if she couldn't be cured."
However, three days into her hospitalization, during which Pollack was receiving morphine intravenously, her daughters were shocked to find that the head of the department had ordered to take her off the analgesic—which made her last few days unbearable.
"It was heart-wrenching watching our mother in that state," her daughters shared. "She suffered excruciating pain all over her body. After three days, during the doctors' rounds, mom called out to the head of the department: 'Mercy! Have mercy on me!' She told him she couldn't take the pain, but he was pitiless. He lacked any ounce of compassion. He explained to her that she only has a few days to live. Luckily, she passed away that night."
Pollack's daughter found a sympathetic ear in LILACH: The Israel Society for the Right to Live and Die with Dignity. "This case is very serious since according to the 2005 Dying Patient Act, if an individual signs a DNR ahead of time, or alternatively, is of clear mind and asks not to be treated, his request should be followed," said Lilach chairperson Bina Divon. The DNR does not include the administration of analgesics.
The medical association said, "The complaint was submitted to the Ethics Committee, and the case is currently being investigated."
