The family of a Toronto man who was declared brain dead after suffering an asthma attack has obtained a temporary injunction to keep him on life support while it fights to have his death certificate revoked on religious grounds. Shalom Ouanounou’s father, who is also his substitute decision-maker, filed an application with the court arguing that the 25-year-old is not dead under the laws of Orthodox Judaism, the faith he practises. The injunction granted Wednesday means Ouaounou will be kept on a ventilator and feeding tube as the family challenges the existing medical guidelines that lay out when a person is considered brain dead, the family’s lawyer said after a hearing in a Toronto court. Hugh Scher said the decision comes as a great relief to the family. The crux of the case is whether the Canadian guidelines on brain death should make accommodations for those whose religion “precludes and rejects the idea, the notion of brain death,” Scher said.

Source: thestar November 01, 2017 19:07 UTC