When can a patient be taken off a life support machine?

Q. A family member is on life support and is brain dead for several Months. The doctors have advised us to put him off life support, as there is no hope of his recovery. Is it permissible to put him off life support?

A. If a patient is on a life support machine and after due consultation, the medical experts determine that the condition of the patient is terminal and there is no hope of recovery, it would be permissible to switch off the life support machine (passive euthanasia) and let nature take its course.

However, under no circumstance is it permissible to take the life of the patient by directly causing death like giving the patient a fatal injection etc. (active euthanasia).

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

themufti.com