85 Years Old and Expendable: When Hospitals Decide Your Time Is Up

I recently visited a friend who was mourning her father. What she shared left me profoundly disturbed. Her father had been hospitalized at a prestigious American medical center. While his condition was terminal with no path to recovery, his mind remained sharp. He was fully present, engaging meaningfully with his children and grandchildren.

Yet the hospital staff repeatedly pressured this elderly man to accept transfer to hospice care—effectively removing the medical support keeping his heart and kidneys functioning. Why? Because maintaining him in the hospital was deemed “too expensive.” The doctor actually said to my friend’s father: “You’ve had 85 good years, and your family is here by your side. Now is the time to say goodbye.” Despite his lucidity and quality time with family, the institutional machinery worked to convince him that his life had reached its expiration date.

How have we arrived at a place where elite medical institutions—ostensibly dedicated to healing—now operate with such callous disregard for the preciousness of human life?

The answer is that too much of American society has abandoned biblical values – specifically the biblical value of life. In Deuteronomy 30:19, God declares:

This command—”choose life”—is not merely philosophical guidance but a divine imperative. In the biblical worldview, life isn’t simply valuable; it is sacred. Each moment of human existence carries divine significance as we are created b’tzelem Elokim—in God’s image.

The Sages elaborate on this principle with remarkable precision. They teach that “whoever saves a single life is considered as if he saved an entire world” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). This isn’t poetic hyperbole but a statement of metaphysical reality. Each human life contains infinite value precisely because it reflects the Divine.

Life itself has immeasurable value in Jewish law and thought. The Sages write that one should be careful not to move a dying patient in order not to hasten his death. Likewise, the Sages (Avodah Zara 18a) tell of the tragic death of the sage Rabbi Chanania ben Tradyon who was burned alive by the Romans. As the fire consumed him, his beloved students cried out to him, “Open your mouth so the fire will consume you quicker!” The sage refused and explained, “Let the one who created me take me.” Even in such difficult circumstances, he did not want to hasten his own death.

This story demonstrates an important principle. It is not up to man to end life; it’s up to God. Just as He gives life, it is up to God to take it back.

Jewish law has developed extensive frameworks around end-of-life care based on these principles. The preservation of life—pikuach nefesh—overrides nearly every other religious obligation. Even Shabbat restrictions are suspended when human life is at stake.

This doesn’t mean Judaism demands extraordinary measures in all circumstances. There is nuance here. When treatment causes unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement, Jewish law distinguishes between active measures to extend life and removing impediments to natural death. We aren’t required to initiate new interventions when they merely prolong suffering without hope of recovery.

However, withdrawal of ongoing care for a lucid person who isn’t suffering intensely—particularly when motivated by financial considerations—violates fundamental biblical principles. The calculation “this life has become too expensive to maintain” has no place in a society guided by biblical ethics.

Our society increasingly operates on utilitarian calculations that reduce human worth to productivity, cost, and convenience. Medical decisions become economic ones. The elderly and infirm are subtly—or not so subtly—encouraged to make way for those deemed more “valuable” to society.

This mentality found its extreme expression in the Nazi concept of lebensunwertes Leben—”life unworthy of life”—which began with the medical killing of the disabled and elderly before expanding to genocide. While today’s hospital administrators aren’t Nazis, the philosophical foundation permitting the devaluation of certain lives bears disturbing similarities.

The Bible insists on the sanctity of every human life regardless of age, condition, or productivity. King David writes in Psalms: “You created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14) This appreciation for divine craftsmanship extends to every moment of existence, including life’s final chapter.

Jewish tradition teaches that even moments before death can hold immense spiritual significance. The vidui (confession) recited on one’s deathbed, final blessings given to children, reconciliations with estranged family members—these sacred acts often occur in life’s final moments.

When medical institutions pressure the elderly or terminally ill toward hastened death, they rob individuals of these precious final opportunities. They usurp authority that belongs solely to the Creator. As the Bible states clearly:

Modern medicine has gifted us with remarkable abilities to extend life. But technological capacity without moral guidance can become tyrannical. We can extend life beyond what is merciful, but we can also terminate it before its divinely appointed time.

We must reject this culture of expedient death. Each human life bears the divine imprint from conception to natural conclusion. Every breath matters. Every moment holds potential for meaning and holiness.

The question is stark: Will we embrace a society that reduces lives to economic units, or will we reaffirm the biblical truth that humans possess immeasurable worth as divine image-bearers?

For people of faith, the answer must be unequivocal. We choose life.

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The World Zionist Congress gives Jews in America a voice in the future direction of Israel. We need to make sure that Israel embraces biblical values and the value of life, and doesn’t fall away from these values – something we already see happening in hospitals in the US.

For Jews – this is your opportunity to take meaningful action. By voting for Israel365 Action (Slate #7), you are standing with the Bible and for an Israeli society based on biblical values.

For Christians – your voice is equally vital. We urge you to CLICK HERE and join Ten from the Nations today. Join our team of righteous Christians and encourage your Jewish friends to vote. Please be a part of this historic effort to stand for biblical values in Israel.