Golubchuk dies at Grace

RHONDA SPIVAK

Sam Golubchuk, the man at the centre of a legal battle involving the question of who has the right to make end-of-life decisions, has died of natural causes, while still on his life support system.

The death of Golubchuk, an 84-year-old Orthodox Jew, means that the legal battle over whether doctors have the right to remove a patient's life support against a family's wishes and religious beliefs will not be decided ultimately in court.

At Golubchuk's funeral, Dr. Joel Zivot, a critical care specialist who is Jewish, came forward to say that he had contacted Golubchuk's children and had agreed to care for Golubchuk, after three doctors had refused to do so.

Zivot addressed those in attendance by saying, "After I heard other physicians had concerns about treating Mr. Golubchuk, I called Mr. Kravetsky [the family's lawyer] and I told him that I wanted to meet with Mr. Golubchuk's children, and I met with them.... I told them that it was my obligation as a physician to honor the wishes of my patients.... There are doctors who believe that it is a duty to care for our patients. I was honored and privileged to care for him [Mr. Golubchuk] in the last few days of his life."

Last November, Golubchuk's children won a temporary injunction to prevent doctors from removing their father from his life support system, against their religious beliefs. The issue was to be decided in court this September. Three doctors resigned rather than follow the court order, on the grounds that they were unnecessarily inflicting pain on an individual so close to death.

Niel Kravetsky, the lawyer for the Golubchuk family, said that, while Golubchuk's fate wasn't sealed by a final court ruling against the hospital, in essence, the Second World War veteran won his case.

"Mr. Golubchuk won. No one took him off life support. He died when his time had come, not when a doctor succeeded in pulling him off. He went on to live another seven months after he was supposed to be at death's door.... Sam went to his Maker when his Maker was ready," Kravetsky said.

Golubchuk's daughter, Miriam Geller, said, "The final decision was God's decision, not what the doctors wanted."

Kravetsky, who spoke at the funeral, added, "Sam Golubchuk in his life was a fighter who fought for his country and for democracy.... He believed that one of the most important things was the right to freedom and the freedom to choose. I believe that Sam Golubchuk fought for democracy in his life and he fought for democracy in his death."

Lawyer Martin Glazer read a letter from Dr. Leon Zacharowicz, a neurologist who had intended on being an expert witness in the upcoming trial. In it, Zacharowicz said, "[Golubchuk] was said to be a stubborn man, and he remained stubborn to the very end. He would not simply roll over and die. He fought on, until his last breath, until the sepsis from bedsores acquired at Grace Hospital overcame him, apparently, in an anti-climax to a heroic struggle. But in his life and in his death, [he] was and remains a hero.

"In Europe, Sam Golubchuk didn't flinch in battle and he didn't flinch in his battle [with the hospital].... He worshipped only one God."

Kravetsky said of Golubchuk's children, "They were very dedicated to their father. They would spend hours with him [in the hospital]. They loved him right to the end. We should all have children like that."

Rabbi Avroham Altein, who also eulogized Golubchuk, said, "It is one of the oddities of life that Mr. Golubchuk, who was by nature a quiet, reserved and humble person, who didn't seek the limelight, spent so much of the last part of his life in the limelight."

Said Kravestky, "Maybe, as a result of this case, the government here will legislate a bill as to how end-of-life decisions are made. Israel has legislation on this subject.... I'd like to see it."

Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

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