In the light of Halachic considerations, medical procedures should not be scheduled before Shabbos.
It is Shabbos when it is forbidden to plead; healing will come soon (Shabbos 12a)
All the diseases ... I will not put upon you, for I, the L-rd, am your healer (Shemos 15:16)
There are many medical procedures, particularly surgical operations, which, because of post-procedural recuperation and tests, require that a patient stay in the hospital after the actual procedure is completed. It is customary in many countries, especially in the U.S.A., to schedule such operations for Friday; and consequently, the recuperative period extends into Shabbos.
There are, however, several Halachic considerations which cast serious doubt on the permissibility of such a procedure. We are not referring to emergency operations, for in cases of pikuach nefesh, when one’s life is in danger, Shabbos assumes secondary status. We refer to those operations and procedures which are scheduled well in advance. The following are some of the reasons why operations, or other procedures warranting a stay in hospital, should not be scheduled for the second half of the week.
The
Shulchan Aruch, the Jewish Code of Law, states (Hilchos Shabbos 248:1): "One should not [set] sail on a ship within three full days preceding Shabbos; that is, from Wednesday on, inclusive of Wednesday itself ...for on the first three days (of travel on the oceans) people are afflicted with pain and disturbances ...and they do not return to their original state until after three full days. Hence, if a person sails within three days preceding Shabbos, he will not enjoy Shabbos."
From this law it is clear that anything which creates disturbance and pain, or can mar one’s enjoyment of Shabbos in general, must be avoided during the three days preceding Shabbos. The disturbances one feels when entering a hospital, with its attendant changes in routine (in eating, sleeping, waking hours, even special clothes), and especially the pain and trauma that follows an operation, are much greater than those caused by sailing on a ship. Moreover, unlike a sea voyage, the havoc wreaked on the enjoyment of Shabbos caused by a hospital stay affects one’s family as well. Thus one should not enter a hospital from Wednesday on.
A further problem is that many of the post-operative procedures involve work which is forbidden on Shabbos. Although some of them may fall within the category of pikuach nefesh, necessary for the patient’s essential welfare, one should not deliberately place himself in the position of having to desecrate the Shabbos. In other words, one should not enter a hospital within three days of Shabbos knowing it will entail desecration of Shabbos.
This principle applies even if the forbidden tasks are performed by a non-Jew. The gravity of this situation is further compounded in cities where many of hospital personnel may be Jewish (e.g. New York, Boston, etc.); and when the tests need the assistance of the patient.
Furthermore, even in many post-operative cases, the tests are not in the category of pikuach nefesh, and must be deferred until after Shabbos. A Jewish patient must then insist on having such tests after Shabbos; but immediately following an operation, a patient does not usually have the requisite strength to refuse his doctors and insist on deferring the tests. Moreover, many of these procedures are mandatory, not easily refused. And if one’s attending physician is Jewish, the patient who enters the hospital on Friday is causing another Jew, the doctor, to desecrate the Shabbos.
All these factors lead to the conclusion that it is completely prohibited to arrange for a hospital procedure on Friday, or even Thursday or Wednesday. It is possible, and has so been demonstrated in the past, for one to arrange to enter a hospital at the beginning of the week.
A further point: Hospital shifts are so arranged that over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday), hospitals are staffed mainly by interns, and not the more experienced physicians. Should some emergency arise it is the more inexperienced doctor who will attend to it. Then, even from the purely medical view, it would be wise not to schedule surgery for Friday.
One more important point. If a person becomes sick G-d forbid, Torah instructs us to seek the best medical assistance possible. Simultaneously however, a man must know that he is constantly being weighed in the Divine scale of good and bad. An ill person would do well to consider that when his life or health is in danger it is time to improve his conduct. His deeds must be beyond, reproach, particularly in the very area of healing. In other words,. the steps taken to become well (surgery, etc.), should be according to G-d’s directives given to us in the Torah; then we may be sure that it will be successful. Then, G-d Who is the "L-rd who heals all flesh and performs wonders," will bless each and every Jew with complete physical and spiritual health.
2nd Day of Shavuos, 5738
