UK court rules Haredi couple’s baby daughter be taken off life support

The fate of a two-year-old Jewish girl on life support in England could be decided at a court hearing on Wednesday

ALTA FIXLER OF Manchester is gravely ill due to natal complications and has been on life support since birth. On May 28, the High Court of London ruled that ending Alta’s life is in her best interest, as medical experts do not believe she has a chance of recovering or feeling pleasure, the BBC reported. They believe she can sense discomfort.

Her parents said that taking their daughter off life support would contradict their Jewish faith. Judaism commands the preservation of human life and generally forbids actions to end it, though rabbis, including Orthodox ones, have diverging opinions on taking seemingly incurably patients off life support.

In the ruling, Justice Alistair MacDonald rejected a petition by the girl’s parents, who are Haredi Orthodox, to have her moved to a hospital in Jerusalem.

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition urging British authorities not to stop life support.

FULL STORY British court rules that Haredi Orthodox couple’s 2-year-old daughter must be taken off life support (JTA)

Photo: Alta Fixler lies in hospital in Manchester, UK in 2019. (Courtesy of the family)