Eluana Transferred Late Tuesday Night to Clinic for Death by Dehydration

LifeSiteNews ^ | 2/3/09 | Hilary White

[wagglebee]

ROME, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Eluana Englaro, who is often referred to as “Italy’s Terri Schiavo,” was transferred late Tuesday night to a hospital that has agreed to participate in her killing by removal of her food and hydration tube. Television news coverage showed a group of pro-life activists gathered outside the clinic in Eluana’s home town of Lecco at about 1:30am, as an ambulance took her away, some shouting “Eluana, wake up!” and “Don’t kill her!”

Eluana Englaro, 38, suffered brain damage in a car accident in 1992 and has since been in a state of diminished consciousness. Eluana’s father, Beppino Englaro, who has been petitioning the courts for over a decade to euthanize his daughter, said her transfer to the new facility is “the first step... towards the liberation of my daughter. It seems we have finally succeeded.”

Beppino Englaro’s lawyer told media that La Quiete, a private clinic in the north eastern town of Undine, had agree to participate in her killing. Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said the government is searching for a new way to prevent her death. The removal of Eluana’s food and hydration tube is set to be carried out in three days.

Death by dehydration has been described by medical authorities as “horrible” and “agonizing.” It was a common form of torture used by totalitarian states, including in well-documented cases by the Nazis in their death camps.

In cases of severe dehydration, toxins build up in the body and the body's chemical balances are disrupted. This disrupts the electrical system that triggers the action of muscles, including the heart. The tongue and lips crack and bleed. The eyes recede into their orbits. The skin becomes so sensitive it peels off upon firm contact. The lining of the nose can crack and bleed. Dried brain cells can cause convulsions. The mouth becomes dry and saliva thick, and there is cracking of the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips. The blood thickens, increasing the risk of stroke. As fluid decreases in the body, blood pressure drops and the heart rate increases, possibly causing shock and heart attack.

The move to kill Eluana has roused the ire of many in Italy, including Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, said on Tuesday, “Stop this murder!”

“To stop giving food and liquids to Eluana is equivalent to abominable murder and the Church will not cease to proclaim this loud and clear.” Interviewed by the Rome daily La Repubblica, the cardinal said that Eluana’s court-mandated death by dehydration “will represent a defeat for the respect of human life.” His comments come after Pope Benedict XVI spoke on Sunday against euthanasia, saying it is a false answer to suffering.

The consequences, both legal and moral, should Eluana Englaro be euthanized in a Catholic Country, will be dire, pro-life advocates have warned. Carlo Caffara, the archbishop of Bologna, said at Mass last weekend, “In the body of this woman, and in her fate, there is an image of the fate of the West.”

Eluana has become a “‘sign of contradiction’ between a culture of death and a culture of life,” he said. “Her martyred body has become the question addressed to every conscience that reflects on man's destiny: To whom does man belong? Who has dominion over man's life and death? Who owns man?”

“The spiritual event of the West has come to the end of the line: If the life of man does not belong to man but to God, no one has control over it for any reason, [but] if the life of man belongs to man, it is consistent to hypothesize circumstances in which everyone can do what he wants with his life or ask others to put an end to it,” Cardinal Caffara continued.

The killing of Eluana, said Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, the director of the Rome office of Human Life International, is going to be disastrous for others in similar situations in Italy. Msgr. Barreiro said, “It would create a precedent whereby judges, against the law, can decide it's right to kill patients. We are not fighting for Eluana's life because she has limited signs of consciousness but because of her dignity as a human being.”

Pro-life legal experts have been especially concerned that should Eluana be “legally” killed by dehydration, it would create a “back door” through which euthanasia could be legalized. The government is considering legislation that would allow the creation of “living wills” that could specify the removal of food and hydration.

In November, health and welfare minister, Maurizio Sacconi, issued a statement that in Italy it is “illegal” to remove the food and hydration of helpless disabled patients with the purpose of ending their lives. Secretary of Welfare, Eugenia Roccella, also said that there is “no obligation” for government-funded health care facilities to implement the court’s decision that patients can be dehydrated to death.

In January, two pro-life advocates launched a legal challenge to the appeals court in Milan, arguing that the decision to allow Eluana’s killing had been made without sufficient medical examination to determine her condition. At that time, more than 700 Italian doctors had signed an open letter opposing the killing of Eluana, saying that such an action is an attack against the “basic rules of good medical practice as established in the declaration of Helsinki.”

EMBASSY OF ITALY IN THE UNITED STATES
3000 Whitehaven Street, NW - Washington, DC 20008
Tel (202) 612-4400 - Fax (202) 518-2154
Press and Public Affairs Office
Tel (202) 612-4444
Fax (202) 518-2154
e-mail: stampa.washington@esteri.it

Embassy of Italy in Ottawa
275 Slater Street, 21st Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H9
CANADA
Tel +1.613.232.2401 - Fax +1.613.233.1484
ambasciata.ottawa@esteri.it
Press and Information
Tel: +1-613-232-2401
Fax: +1-613-233-1484
email: info.ottawa@esteri.it

EMBASSY OF ITALY IN LONDON
14, Three Kings Yard
London W1K 4EH
Tel.: +44 (0)20 73122200
Fax: +44 (0)20 73122230
ambasciata.londra@esteri.it
Gianluca Grandi, First Counsellor
Domestic Politics, EBRD
bers.amblondra@esteri.it

Other Italian Embassies:

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/Templates/SediTemplate.aspx?NRMODE=...

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

700 Italian Doctors ask that Eluana’s Life be Spared
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09011301.html

It is “Illegal” to Stop Food and Hydration of Vulnerable Patients: Top Italian Minister
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08121703.html

[wagglebee]

The deathbots in Canada are jealous of the other ghouls.

Thread by me.

"Right to Die" Bill Introduced into Canadian Parliament

February 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last Thursday's parliamentary "Notice Paper" shows that Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde has again introduced a private members bill, "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (right to die with dignity)." The text of the bill is not yet available. . .

[wagglebee]

God alone is the rightful arbiter of life and death.

Thread by Chet 99.

Man Wakes From Coma Just Before Plug Is Pulled

A California man, who spent four days in a coma and was about to be disconnected from life support, is now on his way to making a full recovery.

Mike Connelly’s family had just given doctors permission to turn off the machines keeping him alive when his stepson noticed a tear slide down the side of his face, the North Coast Times reported.

Moments later, another family member was shouting that the 56-year-old was responding. . .

[Dante3]

My thoughts also. This should be taken for granted.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

It's been a while since a story brought a smile to my face the way this one did.

Thread by me.

Husband of Woman in Coma for 17 Years Visits Wife Three Times Daily, Won't Give Up

SANTIAGO, February 18, 2009 (LifeSitenNews.com) - In a story that stands in stark contrast to the Eluana Englaro and Terri Schiavo cases in Italy and the United States, a Chilean man has been visiting his comatose wife for 17 years, and says he won't give up on her.

Carlos Abarca has always visited his wife regularly, and now that he has retired from the national police force, he is able to come three times a day.  He says that caring for her is his whole life.

"My affection will always be focused on her, I have never doubted it," he told the Chilean daily El Mercurio, which broke the story.  "I don't seek for more from life than caring for her.  There is nothing more to do."

The affection he has for his wife, says Abarca, is "stronger than ever.  I want to protect her, care for her, make sure she is well, that she lacks nothing."

Erika Sotelo has been in a coma since 1995, when the anesthesia given to her for a hysterectomy caused her heart to stop beating.  By the time doctors revived her, Sotelo's brain had suffered damage due to oxygen deprivation. She has never recovered complete consciousness.

However, her husband has never lost hope in her, and recognizes signs of awareness in his wife, despite doctors' claims that she is in a "vegetative state."

[wagglebee]

There have been several threads posted about the Pope's meeting with Pelosi today. The Vatican obviously knew that Pelosi would try to spin it (i.e. LIE), so they released a statement AND denied her a photo op.

Thread by tcg.

Breaking News:Pope Reminds Speaker Pelosi of Her Obligation to Protect and Defend all Human Life

ROME: (Catholic Online) - "Following the General Audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Mrs Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage.

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."

. . .

[wagglebee]

It is almost certain that one day a case MUST go to the Supreme Court in order for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Hopefully, this is that case.

Thread by MountainFlower.

PERSONHOOD IN NORTH DAKOTA

Subject: North Dakota Passes Personhood Bill!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
North Dakota Personhood Bill Passes, First In US History.

Bismark, ND. Signaling the growing momentum of the personhood movement, North Dakota Lawmakers approved HB1572 with a vote of 51-41.

Rep. Dan Ruby introduced the "Personhood" bill, which affirms the rights of pre-born humans and states: "For purposes of interpretation of the constitution and laws of North Dakota, it is the intent of the legislative assembly that an individual, a person, when the context indicates that a reference to an individual is intended, or a human being includes any organism with the genome of homo sapiens."

Thousands of calls to legislators were made by pro-life Grassroots volunteers which helped with this victory. Only one Representative voiced opposition to the bill during the debate of the bill, while overwhelming public support was seen.

"Personhood USA applauds the leadership and support that the North Dakota Policy Council and the North Dakota Life League have shown to make this victory happen," stated Keith Mason of Personhood USA. He continued, "We thank Rep. Dan Ruby for his courage and for being actively pro-life. This great family man is an example to us all."

"North Dakotans have gotten used to cold temperatures like -44 degrees, but they haven't gotten used to child-killing. We applaud and support their efforts to protect every baby by love and by law," commented Cal Zastrow, who, along with his family, worked on the North Dakota bill on the grassroots level.

The next step for Bill 1576 is to be voted on by the State Senate which could happen in the next two weeks. . .

[wagglebee]

An Italian priest has returned an award from the Italian president and has some amazing stories about caring for the disabled.

Thread by me.

Catholic Priest Returns Italian Award After Nation Allows Killing of Eluana Englaro

Rome, Italy (LifeNews.com) -- A Catholic priest has returned the award he received from the president of Italy in protest of the nation allowing Eluana Englaro's father to subject her to a starvation euthanasia death. Father Aldo Trento, who works with severely disabled and minimally conscious patients like Englaro, is upset she was killed.

Englaro had been in a minimally conscious state since 1992, when she was involved in an automobile accident. After four days earlier this month of partial starvation and dehydration, she died.

Father Trento, a missionary at the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo in Paraguay, heads a clinic for the terminally ill.

According to a Zenit report, he received the title "Knight of the Order of the Star of Solidarity" in June from Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.

But last week, he returned the honor to Napolitano after his refusal to sign a special Cabinet-approved measure that would have saved Englaro's life.

"How can I, an Italian citizen, receive such an honor from you, who, with your action, permitted the death of Eluana in the name of the Italian Republic?" he said, according to Zenit.

Father Trento also spoke with the newspaper Il Foglio.

"I have more than one case like Eluana Englaro," he said about the patients at his clinic. "I think of little Victor, a child in a coma, who clenches his fists. All we do is feed him through a tube. Faced with these situations, how can I react to the case of Eluana?"

He described some of the patients that he has seen who others said were without hope.

"Yesterday they brought me a girl who was naked, a prostitute, in a coma, who had been dumped in front of a hospital. Her name is Patricia and she is 19. We washed her. Yesterday she started to move her eyes," he told the newspaper.

"Celeste is 11; she suffers from a very grave form of leukemia; she was never taken care of and they brought her to me just to bury. Today she is walking. And she laughs," he added. . .

[wagglebee]

Hawaii can't seem to locate Zero's birth certificate, but they can't wait to start killing off the sick and disabled.

Thread by me.

Hawaii Bill for Assisted Suicide Fast-Tracked, Gets House Panel Hearing in Days

Honolulu, HI (LifeNews.com) -- A Hawaii state House committee will hold a hearing within days on a bill that would make the state the fourth to legalize assisted suicide. The bill has been fast-tracked and will skip a health panel that has defeated the measure during past sessions of the state legislature.

Assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, and Washington voters and Montana courts made those states the second and third to allow the practice.

Although the Hawaii legislature has defeated past attempts to turn physicians into what opponents call "merchants of death," the moving of the bill to a different committee could make it more difficult for the groups fighting it.

In opposing the assisted suicide bill, pro-life groups have joined with Catholic organizations, disability rights advocates and doctors groups.

According to Scott Foster of Hawaii Death With Dignity, a hearing notice could come out within the next few days about HB 806 and HB 587 in the House Judiciary Committee.

Foster applauds the fast-tracking of the bill, saying "it bypasses the House Health Committee where our bill has been routinely killed in past years. This 'fast track' suggests that the bill may have a fighting chance."

Foster also says the 2008 ballot vote helps his cause: "The recent successful Washington State initiative shows that the idea has not gone away as some might wish."

. . .

[Dante3]

What a wonderful husband - and what a contrast to Mickey Schiavo.

[wagglebee]

Thankfully there are still people who understand that marriage is a sacrament between a husband, a wife and God rather than a convenience to be dumped or murdered when it no longer seems beneficial.

[Dante3]

I agree.

[wagglebee]

Steven Ertelt has posted a thread (and his information is always accurate), that Zero will nominate Tiller the Killer's pal Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of the Health and Human Services.

Obama to Name Pro-Abortion Kathleen Sebelius as Health Secretary

Washington, DC -- While House officials say President Barack Obama will name pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has been criticized for refusing to limit late-term abortions, as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department.

Once official, her selection would add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record as president. . .

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[wagglebee]

Having an anti-Zero sign can now result in a criminal investigation.

Thread by peggybac.

OKC officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.

The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn."

Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over. . .

[wagglebee]

The media's new tactic is to pretend that Zero's pro-death agenda is a "myth".

Thread by Zakeet.

The Catholic Crusade Against a Mythical Abortion Bill

The U.S. Catholic Church's crusade against the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) has all the hallmarks of a well-oiled lobbying campaign. A national postcard campaign is flooding the White House and congressional offices with messages opposing FOCA, and the Catholic bishops have made defeating the abortion rights legislation a top priority. In the most recent effort to stop the bill, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia sent a letter to every member of Congress imploring them to "please oppose FOCA."

There is only one hitch. Congress isn't about to pass the Freedom of Choice Act because no such bill has been introduced.

At a time when the United States is gripped by economic uncertainty and faces serious challenges in hot spots around the globe, some American Catholics are finding it both curious and troubling that their church has launched a major campaign against a piece of legislation that doesn't exist and wouldn't have much chance of becoming law even if it did. To many critics, it feels like the legislative equivalent of the the Dog That Didn't Bark. . .

[wagglebee]

The left has made it very clear that under socialized medicine death will NEVER be rationed.

Thread by me.

Abortions Need More Funding Than Medical Surgeries Oregon Health Plan Says

Salem, OR (LifeNews.com) -- A new analysis finds that the Oregon Health Plan is perhaps the first government-run health care plan in the world to draw up official procedures for rationing. The plan ranks various surgeries and diseases and conditions in order of importance and places abortion high on the list.

Linda Gorman, a senior fellow with the Independence Institute, produced the analysis, which comes on the heels of concerns about similar rationing in the Congressional economic stimulus bill.

~snip~

Surprisingly, abortions rank 41st on the list of 680 most important surgeries and conditions to consider.

That indicates "the state considers using public money for abortions more important than treating" other things, Gorman said. . .

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Lesforlife]

Cal Zastrow is a fabulous Christian witness!!!

His organizing efforts in Colorado were crucial
in getting our Personhood initiative on the ballot.

Personhood Now!

[Miss Behave]

"It's been a while since a story brought a smile to my face the way this one did."

I feel the very same way, Wagglebee. Thank you so much for calling my attention to it. Smiling through tears. Thank you again, W.