Avvenire.it, END OF LIFE - End of Life, Sgreccia "Act required 'by Pier Luigi Fornari
" A law is necessary to protect the life, "Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has no doubts on the duty to approve legislation on end of life, completing the process begun in the House. The cardinal wishes to see enacted a law «la più vicina possibile» al disegno varato dal Senato nel marzo del 2009, e si trova d’accordo con l’ultimo aggiustamento subito dall’articolato in seguito al parere espresso dalla Commissione Affari costituzionali, cioè la cancellazione del carattere vincolante del parere espresso dal collegio di specialisti in caso di contrasto tra medico curante e fiduciario sulla attuazione delle dichiarazioni anticipate di trattamento (Dat).
«È indispensabile legiferare, al punto in cui siamo giunti – spiega il bioeticista – in particolare dopo la tragica conclusione della vicenda di Eluana Englaro, per cui non si riuscì a varare un decreto that could correct the judiciary's decision to suspend her hydration and nutrition. If you do not set a rule, incidents similar to those of young Lecco can be multiplied many times as there are people willing to go that route to death. And this can not be allowed. "
At stake is therefore the principle of the unavailability of human life?
fact. It is a value protected by the Constitution and all our laws. And I am convinced that this is a principle recognized by a very large majority of Italians. It is the basic value that must be approached all the law on end of life, including Dat.
Some people prefer the term "living will" ...
a name is unacceptable, because in this case means that the wishes expressed by the person shall be binding upon, conflict with the principle of the unavailability of human life. The mandatory requirement for doctors to implement the expressed will "of now is unsustainable.
In what extent the principle is violated?
With the binding nature of Dat, in fact it would provide the power to someone to have on human life, whether their own or that of others. It would also violated the principle of equality among men.
in 2003 she was part of the National Committee for Bioethics. What was then the main concern in the development of opinion on Dat?
We put a lot of attention to the names, rejecting both the word "will", the "arrangement" as irattere binding. We chose instead the term "statements" to indicate an expression of guidelines, of desires, of which the physician takes into account se riscontra che la loro attuazione è conforme al principio della indisponibilità della vita e al bene del paziente.
E la Convenzione di Oviedo?
Quel parere era perfettamente in accordo con tale documento. Ricordo anche che, nella elaborazione della Convenzione del Consiglio d’Europa, si evitarono volutamente termini che avessero un peso tale da obbligare il medico a mettere in atto quanto scritto nelle dichiarazioni di volontà della persona riguardo ai futuri trattamenti medici.
Come si inserisce in questo contesto il ruolo del medico?
This is another crucial point, because the doctor has a responsibility, indeed a duty to guarantee.
In what sense?
It is your job profile to assign this role to guarantee. This responsibility carries with respect to the patient's own health, to his professional conscience, the state and, say, in front of the entire citizenship. For a person wishing to exercise a waste of current therapies necessary to safeguard their lives can not expect your cooperation. Indeed, it must expressly terminate the relationship with your doctor, take personal responsibility to the point of his willingness to abandon the health facility.
And in the case of the "living will"?
tumbling with the rules or with \u0026lt;+ italic> trick \u0026lt;+ round> the role of guarantor of life and health of the patient exercised by the doctor, it undermines a cornerstone of the Constitution and the medical profession.
So what are the indications to be obtained for the law?
That Dat, as well to be in writing and renewed after a certain period of time, can not be binding when new circumstances arise it is for the doctor to evaluate.
What other task is for the doctor?
avoid both the tenacity and the abandonment of treatment, and ensure the vital support provided by nutrition and hydration, which are not medical treatments.
There is also a duty to avoid any form of euthanasia ...
fact, but it would be appropriate in approval of a precise definition in the text. Euthanasia is an act or omission of a speech that actually seeks and with the intent to terminate life or hastening death, albeit with the intention to reduce or stop the pain.
Other filings possible?
would seek clarification over the audience of the subjects for which come into force Dat, because the enlargement took place in the House seems a bit 'generic enough to require clarification. For example, patients with Parkinson's disease and in certain circumstances are unable to understand the doctor's advice and to decide, but it would be a mistake to treat them the same way as a persistent vegetative state and deprive them of certain treatments of their own pathology. There may be a risk of abuse. The addition made to the Deputies withdraw hydration and nutrition when it is no longer effective, a specification is superfluous: I do not want to open a space agency.
What information to give law enforcement?
Increase the availability and support for palliative care; need specific assistance for the terminally ill or vegetative states. It should also be extended education for all healthcare workers, even in university courses.
What he has to say the Church's teaching on diseases in which consciousness seems to disappear ...
Four years ago the Holy Father in the audience to the participants at the congress on the vegetative states promoted by the Pontifical Council for Life, found that already the term vegetative state is ambiguous. We are faced with a vegetable, but a man. Often we confuse inability of expression with loss of consciousness. So, you need an attitude of extreme caution. Recent research has only confirmed that indication ethics.
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