'God was with us': family applauds decision to send life-support case to trial

Samuel Golubchuk's relatives are relieved a judge has decided the elderly man will remain on life support until a dispute over whether doctors can disconnect him without the family's permission can go to trial.

On Wednesday, Justice Perry Schulman ruled Golubchuk's case should go to trial to determine whether the ventilator and feeding tube that are keeping him alive should remain in place or be removed, as recommended by his doctors.

"God was with us," said Miriam Geller, Golubchuk's daughter, after the judge issued his decision.

"We're grateful for the decision the judge made, not only for my father, but all the elderly people and disabled people," said his son, Percy Golubchuk.

The 84-year-old man was admitted to the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg last October with pneumonia. He also has heart disease and suffers from brain injuries sustained in a fall four years ago.

His doctors have argued he has minimal brain function and there is little hope of recovery.

But Golubchuk's family members have said taking him off life support would hasten his death, something they consider tantamount to murder under their Orthodox Jewish religious beliefs.

Neil Kravetsky, who represents the family, applauded Schulman's ruling.

"What he says is, that's to be determined by the courts in a full-blown trial," Kravetsky said, adding that he hopes the trial will show doctors don't have an exclusive right to determine when to continue treatment.

"In the situation where doctors have threatened to remove treatment, the consent still is important," he said.

Two weeks ago, the College of Physician and Surgeons of Manitoba released ethical guidelines governing how to decide to take patients off life-support equipment.

The guidelines say family members must be consulted if a patient is unable to communicate. However, doctors can still decide to stop treatment without family consent, as long as a family is given a four-day notice of when treatment will end.

Kravetsky said he could also introduce the possibility of negligence as a part of the trial, suggesting doctors did not undertake sufficient neurological testing to make the determination to remove life support.

Kravetsky has previously presented affidavits from two U.S. doctors who looked at Golubchuk's medical charts and concluded his condition was improving.

Hospital defends actions

Vivian Rachlis, a lawyer for the hospital and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said doctors have always acted in Golubchuk's best interest.

"We will be reviewing the decision of the court, but we do want to say that decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatments are never easy," she said.

Golubchuk's case has received wide attention and varying opinions within and between many groups, including religious organizations, medical professionals and ethicists.

They won't have to wait long for the debate to continue in court: Schulman directed that the trial be held quickly.

Kravetsky said the trial will be held regardless of Golubchuk's condition — even if he dies before the court hears his case.