Vatican wrong to open door to euthanasia, says British whistleblower...

The doctor who blew the whistle on abuses carried out under the notorious Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) has warned Catholics that new guidance from the Vatican on end-of-life care is lethally flawed.

The Rev. Dr Patrick Pullicino, a former hospital doctor who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark after he retired from the NHS, made his remarks in a homily preached during a Mass in the Jesuit church in Valletta, the capital of Malta.

He said the Pontifical Academy of Life had effectively put forward “guidelines whereby in certain circumstances euthanasia could be acceptable”.

“Euthanasia, though, is never acceptable,” said Fr Pullicino.

“Of course we know it is never moral to stop fluids or nutrition, but hospitals have become experts at delaying fluids and nutrition particularly in the elderly,” he said.

Continued below.

Akita Suggagaki said:

"Pope St John Paul II, however, was clear in his teaching that the withdrawal of food and fluid with the intention of ending life constituted euthanasia.

"Addressing a gathering of Catholic medics in Rome in March 2004, the late pope said: “I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life and not a medical act.”

"He said: “Death by starvation or dehydration is, in fact, the only possible outcome as a result of their withdrawal. In this sense it ends up becoming, if done knowingly and willingly, true and proper euthanasia by omission.”




Intention is as important as the needs of the particular patient. Sometimes their body can no longer process the nutrition or hydration and it builds up in the body, they become bloated, swollen, distended and even more uncomfortable

americanhospice.org

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Yeah that’s common knowledge and always taken into account. Do you have anything to say about the op posted?

“Unfortunately there is now a push for a utilitarian medicine in the EU and some doctors including in Malta are going along with this.”

“In addition the ex-labour minister Michael Farrugia wants a dialogue on euthanasia and abortion to start,” he added.

“But why do you want to start a dialogue on something that is intrinsically evil unless you want to bring it in?”

A former consultant neurologist with East Kent Hospitals University Foundation NHS Trust, in 2012 the then Prof Pullicino made a submission to the House of Lords about abuses of patients placed on the LCP, explaining how he removed one “dying” patient who went on to recover.
Following a lecture he gave at the Royal Society of Medicine months later, scores of families came forward to the media with terrible stories of the abuse of their relatives under the end-of-life care protocol.

Akita Suggagaki said:

I still can't find it. Just a lot of commentary .

"For example, the document clarifies the three circumstances where it is morally acceptable to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration. These are when:

1) They are no longer clinically effective, meaning when the tissues are no longer able to absorb the administered substances.

2) They are unavailable in the healthcare setting.

3) They cause the patient “excessive burden or significant physical discomfort” due to the instruments used."

Vatican released lexicon on end-of-life issues | The Catholic Weekly

In light of recent end-of-life issues making headlines, the Vatican published a document explaining its teachings on these issues.

www.catholicweekly.com.au

It doesn't seem to be condoning euthanasia and assisted suicide as some charge.

Why is it not available so we can read for ourselves?

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I think the Catechism explains it pretty well. I doubt there is any conspiracy afoot.

*Permission to post in full*​

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Question:​

What is the Church’s teaching’s on the prolonging of life when the body is at it’s natural end?

Answer:​

In short, the Church teaches that extraordinary measures need not be taken to keep someone alive, e.g., the use of a ventilator when a person’s breathing system is shutting down.

At the same, the Church teaches that ordinary medical care should never be forsaken, i.e., food and fluids—even when taken intravenously—unless receiving food or fluids yield more harm than good because a person’s body is shutting down.

In all cases, a person in the latter stages of life should be given good palliative care, including oxygen received nasally and also pain-management pharmaceuticals, both of which will aid the patient’s comfort in their last days as they prepare for death.

Unfortunately, many hospitals today practice a form of euthanasia by withholding food and fluids because doctors have judged a patient has reached a diminished “quality of life.” The person might well die in only weeks or months otherwise because of their physical condition, yet they end up dying from starvation and dehydration sooner. Such bioethical practices are not ethical, because they establish the precedent for ending the life others deemed to have a diminished quality of life, including because they are perceived as a burden on society, e.g., those with Down Syndrome.

For more on this issue, please see our previous response on extraordinary care. In addition, for more information, including obtaining an advance directive to ensure Catholic principles are followed in end-of-life care for you and your loved, we encourage you to contact the Patients Rights Council and the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

Of course, the “Little Lexicon on the End of Life” has only been published in one language so far, and is not intended as a definitive text, or a total answer to a wide-ranging debate.