Supreme Court Rejects Appeal in Assisted Suicide Case

What Happened

A young man who had previously attempted suicide was a patient in a closed psychiatric ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital and used a wheelchair. There he met the applicant; according to the Court’s findings, they discussed suicide together. On December 16, 2018, the woman helped him leave the ward through deception, reach a ten-story building on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem, and ascend to the roof. Later, she abandoned her intention to die and tried to persuade the man to reconsider, but she left him on the roof, after which he jumped to his death.

District Court Ruling

The Jerusalem District Court convicted the woman of assisting suicide under Section 302 of the Penal Law, 5737–1977, in case ת"פ 20737-05-20. The Court found that she was aware of the seriousness of the deceased’s intentions and committed acts that enabled him to carry out his plan. She was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment to be served as community service, 18 months’ suspended imprisonment, one year of probation supervision, and payment of NIS 10,000 in compensation to the deceased’s family.

Why the Appeal Was Rejected

The main dispute centered on the mens rea required for the offense; the defense argued that the applicant did not intend to assist suicide and that mere negligence was insufficient. Justices Yosef Elron and Ofer Grosskopf concluded that her deliberate acts—arranging the departure from the closed ward, transporting the man, and helping him ascend to the roof—were intended to assist in carrying out the shared plan. The majority held that her lack of desire for the man’s death and her subsequent attempts to persuade him to reconsider did not, in themselves, negate criminal liability.

Judicial Disagreement

Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz dissented, finding that the prosecution had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the applicant acted with the purpose of assisting the deceased in committing suicide. The majority, however, upheld the conviction and sentence. At the same time, Justice Grosskopf noted doubts regarding the appropriateness of the decision to prosecute the woman in the first place, given her mental condition and the rarity of such charges, but did not consider this a basis for acquittal.

Legal Basis of the Decision

Section 302 of the Penal Law, 5737–1977, provides for a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment for inciting, advising, or assisting suicide. The majority clarified that liability requires knowing and purposeful assistance through acts that facilitate suicide, but does not necessarily require a desire for another person’s death. The question of whether the offense is a conduct offense or requires the result to occur was not definitively and uniformly resolved; Justice Elron proposed one approach, while Justice Grosskopf considered it appropriate to leave the broader question for a future case.

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