Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 12:12am
Italy court denies man's death request
An Italian court has denied the request of a man suffering from advanced muscular dystrophy to be removed from life-support. The court said the man is asking for assisted suicide, which is illegal in Italy.
Piergiorgio Welby, 60, is almost entirely paralyzed by the disease, breathing with a respirator and communicating by a voice synthesizer, according to a report by the Herald. He requested a court order to have the respirator turned off and to receive sedation, LifeSiteNews.com reported Monday.
In her judgment Justice Salvio acknowledged Welby's constitutional right to consent to or refuse his own medical treatment, but she said Italy's medical code would not permit doctors to carry out treatments aimed at causing death.
Euthanasia opponent Alex Schadenberg, however, when discussing a similar request by a Spanish woman earlier this month, told LifeSiteNews.com that in fact complying with a person's request to be removed from life support would not constitute either assisted suicide or euthanasia. Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said a respirator is considered extraordinary care that a patient should be free to reject.
"This is not the same as denying food and fluids. Denying food and fluids will cause the death of the person," Schadenberg said. "You should have the right to refuse medical treatment, legally speaking."
Political parties have targeted the case as a pivotal point in the country's ongoing euthanasia debate. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano earlier responded to Welby's request in a letter calling for "sensible and thorough debate" on the issue.
Piergiorgio Welby, 60, is almost entirely paralyzed by the disease, breathing with a respirator and communicating by a voice synthesizer, according to a report by the Herald. He requested a court order to have the respirator turned off and to receive sedation, LifeSiteNews.com reported Monday.
In her judgment Justice Salvio acknowledged Welby's constitutional right to consent to or refuse his own medical treatment, but she said Italy's medical code would not permit doctors to carry out treatments aimed at causing death.
Euthanasia opponent Alex Schadenberg, however, when discussing a similar request by a Spanish woman earlier this month, told LifeSiteNews.com that in fact complying with a person's request to be removed from life support would not constitute either assisted suicide or euthanasia. Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said a respirator is considered extraordinary care that a patient should be free to reject.
"This is not the same as denying food and fluids. Denying food and fluids will cause the death of the person," Schadenberg said. "You should have the right to refuse medical treatment, legally speaking."
Political parties have targeted the case as a pivotal point in the country's ongoing euthanasia debate. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano earlier responded to Welby's request in a letter calling for "sensible and thorough debate" on the issue.