Coalition for Jewish Values International (CJV-Intl), the UK-based European affiliate of the Coalition for Jewish Values, reacted strongly today to news that a UK judge not only denied Sudiksha Thirumalesh the ability to seek further treatment for her illness abroad, but, according to her family, imposed a shameful gag order to prevent them from appealing to the public.

CJV International Chairman Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag made the following statement:

Judaism recognizes the sacred value of every human life. Thirumalesh told the courts she was determined to ‘die trying to live.’ The fact that clinicians, lawyers, and the Court all worked to deny her that rightful choice does not make their conduct any more humane or decent.
 
We are reminded of the case of Alta Fixsler, who passed away two years ago after the NHS and Courts denied her parents the ability to take their child abroad for treatment, although multiple teams were ready to transport and treat her abroad at no expense to the public. In this recent travesty, it is the patient herself whose rightful choice was denied by a system bent upon guaranteeing her death.