(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Pope John Paul II said Saturday the removal of feeding tubes from people in vegetative states was immoral, and that no judgment on their quality of life could justify such "euthanasia by omission."

Fantastic. Does that mean the Vatican will be helping families pay the catastrophic medical bills of keeping a person alive, for years or decades, when there is literally no hope of recovery?

The Pope called for more money for a "cure," but there is no "cure" for massive brain damage. Small amounts of damage can repair themselves over time, amazingly enough, but if the prefrontal cortex is destroyed, there's no one home and there never will be.

Why is our culture so afraid of death? Death is part of life. Death is fore-ordained at the moment of birth. To be honest I am not afraid of being dead, I am not afraid of the thought that who I am will one day disappear into oblivion. It's the process of dying itself I'm afraid of. All that pain and panic.

Comments

[yud.livejournal.com]

If anything, you'd think Christians would be in favor of death, because dying means leaving the pain of this world and going into the bliss of heaven (provided a Christian lifestyle and/or a last-minute repenting session).

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Only in, I think, a very stunted version of Christianity. IMO the resurretion of Jesus signified more than anything else a victory over death and over fate. t_head described the Catholic position well in a comment further down the page.