Cardinal Poletto encourages Italian doctors to exercise conscientious objection in Englaro case
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Rome, Italy, Jan 26, 2009 / 09:29 am (CNA).- The Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Severino Poletto, encouraged Italian doctors to resort to conscientious objection if they are ordered to let Eluana Englaro—known as the Terri Schiavo of Italy—die of starvation.

In an interview published in “La Repubblica,” Cardinal Poletto explained that “letting someone who is in a vegetative state starve to death is euthanasia, and the Church is against euthanasia as with any other form of taking a life.”

In 1992, Eluana Englaro, 38, fell into a vegetative state after a car accident. Last November, a court authorized her parents to disconnect her feeding tube and allow her to die, but until now, Italian health care professionals have refused to carry out the sentence.

“The law of God never goes against man. To go against the law of God means going against man.  Therefore, if the two laws are in contradiction it is because the law of man is wrong and will be revealed as such by its own fruits,” the cardinal explained.

Cardinal Poletto said, “The possibility exists of conscientiously objecting when the application of a law contrasts with his or her own principles.”  “No human law can go against conscience, obliging it to commit acts that are against our own convictions.”

“This is valid for a doctor who is being asked to practice an abortion, as well as for the one who is forced to remove Eluana’s feeding tube, or for the pharmacist who refuses to sell a certain pill,” he added.

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Subscriber comments:
Published by: AC
Wales 01/27/2009 09:07 AM EST
To starve someone to death dehumanises them and is agonisingly painful. It is certainly murder - the premeditated destruction of human life - and should never be permitted. It is nothing other than so-called "euthanasia" - the Cardinal is quite right.
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Published by: Dante Figueroa
United States 01/26/2009 08:30 PM EST
Again and again the Holy Church defends life against a culture that has become accustomed to death.
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Published by: ded
Detroit/MI/USA 01/26/2009 06:12 PM EST
"If I was Eluana I would be grateful to be left to die.
Let her go, please!"

Would you be grateful to be starved to death? If you would will this for yourself, you would be willing for your suicide. You would also be willing that someone would take actions to kill you. That's a lot of burden on yourself and someone else.
You have to make a clear distinction here. This patient will die of starvation and dehydration. That is murder. I work as a hospice RN and I see situations like this very often. It is medically (and of course morally) wrong to stop feeding a patient who can still tolerate being fed. It's murder. What is not clear here? Medical bills? Are we really concerned with medical bills when it comes to the dignity of every human life? Don't start down the road of defining who should live and who should die.
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Published by: Khuong
Washington D.C. 01/26/2009 01:31 PM EST
Cardinal Poletto said,“letting someone who is in a vegetative state starve to death is euthanasia..." Where did he learn the definition of euthanasia??? Is he willing to pay for all the medical bills with his salary, or just want to say something so that he will present himself as a moral character??? Let's save some energy and resource to fight the abortion that is truly can be defined as a premedictated murder instead.
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Published by: Luis Beneyto
Portugal 01/26/2009 11:41 AM EST
If I was Eluana I would be grateful to be left to die.
Let her go, please!
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