(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

[gentlemaitresse.livejournal.com]

Dying from starvation is an excruciatingly painful death. It seems such a waste when a simple feeding tube could save your life and you *may* indeed recover. A feeding tube does not necessarily require you be in a hospital. And in some cases (such as the woman in Florida) a lawsuit provided the money to give the person medical care for the rest of her life.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

My concerns with the way this was handled are two-fold. First I am concerned about sweeping statements that undermine the proper way these decisions should be made -- case by case. A sweeping decision from authority either way -- in favor of universal euthanasia or indefinitely-ongoing treatment -- is not proper.

Secondly I'm concerned about the burden that this will surely place on many families who may have otherwise decided, for better or worse, to let their loved one pass on. By the grace of God I have not been in that position yet, but I am not going to tell a family in that situation what I think they should do.