Report from the International Congress: "Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State"

This one is great reading...
Some excerpts:

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Vice President of the Pontifical Council for Life, stated that: "feeding and hydration is essential to vegetative patients ... it is a duty that is both ethically and medically necessary."

Fr. Kevin O’Rourke, who was not present at the congress but who supports the withholding of food and fluids from people in a vegetative state, commented to reporter, Arthur Jones of the National Catholic Reporter that Bishop Sgreccia was "presenting a private theological opinion as Catholic teaching." and that the "magisterium has never maintained that prolonging the life of a patient in PVS ‘is beneficial to the patient.’"

Professor Eugene Diamond, and moral theologians Fr. Gonzalo Miranda, & Fr. Kevin McMahon each concluded that food and fluids are not medical treatment but rather normal care that is due all persons. That food and fluids are mandatory, unless their provision causes a great physical burden or risk to the patient receiving the care and not providing food and fluids to people in a vegetative state who are not otherwise dying is the same as euthanasia.

Fr. Norman Ford of the Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics in Melbourne, stated that: "the patient should not be subjected to the ontological indignity of being sustained by medically assisted nutrition and hydration for years of unconscious life. This shows a lack of respect for them."

Auxilary Bishop Anthony Fisher of Australia stated: "If continuing to live is unworthy of human dignity with patients incapable of recovery, then why spoon-feed an incapacitated person? Why bother covering them up to avoid cold?"

A French physician challenged Fr. Ford by stating: "why dehydrate people to death over two weeks? If the aim is to end their life, why not be honest and simply put them to death by lethal injection?"

Another controversial presentation on Friday afternoon was delivered by Professor Joannes Lelkens from Maastricht Netherlands. Dr. Lelkens presentation was on the withdrawal of nutrition & hydration in the Netherlands, where euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal.

Dr. Lavrijsen from Nijmegen Netherlands was indignant that Dr. Lelkens was referring to withdrawal of nutrition and hydration as euthanasia. In an intense exchange, Dr. Lavrijsen, asked Dr. Lelkens publicly, "Are you accusing me of manslaughter?" Dr. Lelkens responded, "Yes it is manslaughter, there is no other way to define it."

Dr. Gian Luigi Gigli, President of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations said, "After society rejected euthanasia under Nazism, we are now accepting euthanasia for freedom or compassion or pain or choice. I will fight this as long as I live and with all of my strength." He continued, "If we open the door to nutrition and hydration removal, something else will come. It will make life a disposable good and life will be only a good based on its quality. If we accept this we will accept that there is a life not worthy of life. It will lead to the notion - ‘wouldn’t it be better, faster and more compassionate to give them an injection’."

Full Article.