Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi has issued an emergency decree to prevent a woman who has been in a coma for 17 years from having her feeding tubes disconnected, stepping in the middle of a controversial case that has divided the public and calling attention to the Vatican's influence in Italian public policy.
38-year-old Eluana Englaro has been in a persistent vegetative state since a car crash in 1992. Her father has been battling with the courts in Italy to let her die since 1999, insisting it was her wish. In November, Italy's highest court ruled that she had expressed a preference for dying over being kept alive artificially, and that doctors could stop feeding her. She was then transferred to a private geriatric clinic in the northern city of Udine, where doctors had agreed to disconnect her feeding tubes.
The Prime Minister's decree (which must be signed by the President) says that feeding "can in no circumstances be refused". PM Berlusconi said: "Urgent government intervention is needed because this morning they began the non-provision of food and water to the person." The prime minister said if the president persisted in refusing to sign the decree, an emergency session of parliament would enact a new law.
Although opinion polls in Italy show the public is split over this case, the government now appears to have decided to adopt the position taken by the Catholic Church. Senior Vatican officials have, in recent months, described attempts to stop feeding Englaro as euthanasia. One cardinal said it amounted to murder. Pope Benedict issued a public statement calling it a "false solution" to the tragedy of suffering.
No comments:
Post a Comment