Media: The Pope opens the road to legalization of euthanasia

19.11.2017, Vatican.

The Pope’s statements are actually justifying some forms of euthanasia, according to TASS citing the Avvenire Catholic newspaper on November 17.

Pope Francis says that it is permissible for a sick person “to refrain or withdraw from medical treatment if it does not meet humanitarian and ethical criteria”.

He justified his point of view, saying that “medical interventions have become ever more effective, but they are not always beneficial”, he also said “greater wisdom is called for today because of the temptation to insist on treatments that have powerful effects on the body, yet at times do not serve the integral good of the person”. 

The head of the Catholic church said “from an ethical standpoint, it is completely different from euthanasia, which is always wrong, in that the intent of euthanasia is to end life and cause death”.

But these statements brought a new wave of disagreement amongst Italians.

This slight distinction between euthanasia itself and the right of the patient to refrain from the treatment as well as the right of the relatives or doctors to withdraw the therapy, if the patient is not capable of making that decision, caused a strong reaction in Italy.

In particular, the newspaper also recalled a case with an 11-months-old Charlie from Britain with a rare genetic disease, when the doctors decided to let the child die.

The decision was supported at Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice in England despite the parents’ protest. The other case with a child suffering from the similar disease, whose condition had improved due to genetic therapy in an American clinic, was not taken into consideration.

The parents agreed to undergo experimental treatment, but the London clinic did not permit to transfer the child to the United States as the doctors decided there was no chance to treat the child.

Euthanasia as a method to end a life of a human is illegal in Italy, but Vatican representatives constantly give speeches with vague meaning on this and other sensitive issues.

In addition, euthanasia includes not only intentional actions leading to the fast and painless death of a hopeless patient, but the intentional withdrawal of supportive treatment, which the Pope has actually supported. These are so-called “active” and “passive” euthanasias.

Editorial comment

Despite all the if’s, the head of the Roman church actually takes the first step to the previously unwavering position of Vatican to ban euthanasia in all forms.

This move is quite like the modern European trends of destroying traditional values and contributing to a new establishing world order. The question is, does Russia want the same?

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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