U.S. Catholic bishops issue rule on feeding tubes

[LAGC]

If Carol Gaetjens ever becomes unconscious with no hope of awakening, even if she could live for years in that state, she says she wants her loved ones to discontinue all forms of artificial life support.

But now there's a catch for this churchgoing Catholic. U.S. bishops have decided that it is not permissible to remove a feeding tube from someone who is unconscious but not dying, except in a few circumstances.

People in a persistent vegetative state, they say, must be given food and water indefinitely by natural or artificial means as long as they are otherwise healthy. The new directive, which is more definitive than previous church teachings, also appears to apply broadly to any patient with a chronic illness who has lost the ability to eat or drink, including victims of strokes and people with advanced dementia.

Catholic medical institutions - including Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Mercy Medical Center in Nampa and Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario - are required to honor the decision, issued late last year, as they do church teachings on abortion and birth control.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/05/1141502/feeding-tube-rules-an-issue-for.html

Why is it so hard for the Church to understand something called "quality of life?" They are so immersed in their "pro-life" position that they could care less what kind of life one is living, only that one is forced to live it. They want to force unwanted children to be born, where they will be neglected and possibly abused -- they want to keep people artificially on life support even when they are brain dead, against their wishes even. A weird sense of priorities they have, to say the least...

[NJmaverick]

1. Rank hypocrisy, when their last Pope reached this stage there

was no forced feeding tube.

[zipplewrath]

6. Plenty of hipocrisy in the church

No need to make up new stuff. John Paul wouldn't have qualified as "otherwise healthy" and he was basically conscious until death. A feeding tube, I don't believe, was ever necessary. And give the man his props. I don't agree with the choice, but he did avoid pain killers and medications intended to ease his discomfort. He believed there was spiritual growth that came from pain. I don't agree with the guy, but at least he walked the walk.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. basically conscious until death? that's debatable, especially

when he promoted the Rat to be his political/legal hatchet man in the 1990s.

[zipplewrath]

9. Medical threshold is low

Well, the medical threshold for "conscious" is probably a tad lower than yours.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. cannot argue with that.

for a bit there, the Vatican, and all its diligent, obedient cardinals and bishops reminded me of our GOP. All talking in lockstep, all excusing away their crimes, all supporting the pope, and all attacking those who dare question the pope's infallibility.

talk about them all being on message. Yet, from friends and family, the topic at easter dinner was how far the vatican had fallen, and unlike that old lady in that TV it, it really can't stand up.

[NJmaverick]

8. The Pope was given the comfort care the Bishops want to ban here in the US

He was allowed to pass away peacefully rather than being put on a feeding tube and respirator.

[zipplewrath]

10. Again, that's a tad at odds with the history

He was not "otherwise healthy" and there was little in the way of "comfort care" given to John Paul. He was conscious and refused most care towards the end to intentionally allow pain and discomfort. He was dying relatively "naturally".

[StarlightGold]

22. He may have

walked the walk, but the fact that his church is bullying everyone else to do what he did is indefensible. I'm sorry, but it's taken me a long time to break free from this disgusting institution and I don't want them strong-arming anyone else. Especially when people are in one of the most vulnerable stages of their lives.

[zipplewrath]

2. Oxymoron

"People in a persistent vegetative state, they say, must be given food and water indefinitely by natural or artificial means as long as they are otherwise healthy."

Um. Someone in a persistent vegetative state isn't "otherwise healthy". Their entire body is deteriorating.

"The new directive, which is more definitive than previous church teachings, also appears to apply broadly to any patient with a chronic illness who has lost the ability to eat or drink, including victims of strokes and people with advanced dementia."

Glad this didn't get out before my father reached that state. Mom probably would have kept him alive. Although I'm not sure how much longer food and water would have helped. His breathing was deteriorating too.

[brendan120678]

3. Being in a persistent vegetative state...

is not the same as being brain dead.

Nothing in this new ruling requires people who are brain dead to be kept on feeding tubes.

[Deep13]

5. In point of fact, nothing in it requires anyone to do anything.

I'll just file this next to the prohibitions on birth control, divorce and and non-marital sex.

[HockeyMom]

16. Hopefully, you don't live in an area

where the only hospital in town is a catholic one. This was the case where we used to live. My daughter knew a girl who was raped. Do you know, because of only having a catholic hospital in town, the cops took all rape victims to a hospital outside our town? Hats off to them! Do you know it was because the catholic hospital refused to give rape victims the Morning After Pill? Oh yes, 12 year old rape victim must bear their rapist's baby. I don't know who is sicker; the rapist, or the church. I know this is about feeding tubes, but it is part and partical of the catholic church. No ifs and or buts, except as it applies to "US".

Before any of you talk about catholic bashing, be aware I went through 12 years of catholic school. And this is precisely why I feel the way I do about them.

[Deep13]

17. True. nt

[Deep13]

4. When asked for a comment, small children responded, "Don't rape us!" ...

Catholic bishops and moral authority: not so much.

[struggle4progress]

11. This article appeared two months ago in the Chicago Trib. The Bishops' action

was three months before that. It's continuing fall-out from the Schiavo case

Archive for Monday, February 08, 2010
Bishops change feeding tube guidelines
Directive says food and water must be given to patients in persistent vegetative state
By Judith Graham
February 08, 2010
If ever Carol Gaetjens becomes unconscious with no hope of awakening, even if she could live for years in that state, she says she wants her loved ones to discontinue all forms of artificial life support ... http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2010/feb/08/local/ct-met-catholic-hospitals-20100208

U.S. Guidelines on Feeding Tubes Revised by Bishops
By Genevieve Pollock
11/19/2009
Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)
The move was to ensure the proper application of 'Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration'.
BALTIMORE, Maryland (Zenit.org) - The U.S. Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services were updated to include more specific guidelines on artificial nutrition and hydration for patients in a persistent vegetative state ... http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34878

ZE07091409 - 2007-09-14
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-20507?l=english
VATICAN AFFIRMS OBLIGATION OF FEEDING TUBES
Terri Schiavo's Family Welcomes Clarification
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that the administration of nutrition and hydration to people in the so-called vegetative state is, with rare exceptions, morally obligatory. The document and accompanying note, released today and approved by Benedict XVI, came as an answer to questions presented to the Vatican by the U.S. bishops in 2005 ... http://www.zenit.org/article-20507?l=english

[LAGC]

12. Interesting.

Today's the first I heard of it, now that its affecting local hospital policy.

From that last link you posted, it sounds like the policy comes straight from the top (Vatican)... not surprising.

Thanks for posting. :hi:

[struggle4progress]

19. The policy DID come straight from the top. Until recently, there was considerable

disagreement among bishops about the circumstances under which feeding tubes can be removed. The bishops' action in Baltimore last year was a direct response to the earlier Papal clarification

[katmondoo]

13. I haven't forgotten how the Church ruled on a nine year old child

Her father impregnated her with twins and the church wanted her to carry them full term. Her mother was excommunicated for having given permission for an abortion. The father who raped her was NOT excommunicated. I am a catholic but the church is becoming sicker by the year. I haven't been to church in a long time but in my heart I cannot give up being catholic. To me every church has its problems, it is the belief in god that counts.

[zipplewrath]

21. It's been pretty sick for a good long time

Depending upon how far back one wants to look, they've been fairly indefensible for a good long time. It takes each generation to become aware of just how bad they are. Usually not until after a new generation has been indoctrinated.

[happyslug]

23. Excommunication is automatic in some cases, i.e. you do the act you are excommunicated

Formal Excommunications requires action by Priest or Bishop, automatic excommunications do not. If you elect to have an abortion (As opposed to being forced to have an abortion) you are automatically excommunicated. Anyone who participate in the abortion is also automatically excommunicated. The Mother, who only gave permission, is NOT subject to such automatic excommunication and thus must be formally excommunicated.

As to the Father, his impregnation of his daughter is a violation of the Ten Commandments (I.e using the "property of others" i.e. his daughter's body without her permission, remember the ten Commandments were written at a time where the definition of property was substantially different their our definition of property today, thus one's body was one's property and for someone to use it without your permission was a violation of the Commandments against theft. I mention this for the only sex crime in the Ten Commandments is Adultery, for it is the only sex act of a married person that is NOT an involuntary act of the person who did the sex act, thus had to be listed separately).

My point here is the Father did NOT have to be excommunicated, for he excommunicated himself when he had sex with his daughter. The mother only excommunicated offense was to permit the daughter to have an abortion. That is NOT an automatic communication and thus the Bishop, if he wanted her excommunicated, must do so formally.

Please note, Catholic Excommunication does NOT mean you can not go to Church, in fact you are encouraged to go to Church. All Excommunication mean is one can NOT take Communion, furthermore it can be lifted by any bishop if you acknowledge the underlying sin and ask for forgiveness of that sin. Just a comment on Excommunication and the extent of such excommunications.

[Angry Dragon]

25. According to the Bible

"God" gave ten rules to live by. How many rules does the catholic church have??

Why would anyone want to belong to a church that has so many rules, makes them up as they go, and excludes so many people?? I thought the Bible said "God" had the right of judgement and not the church or people??

[enlightenment]

14. Lovely. That will have some nasty reprecussions in some communities

where a Catholic run hospital is the only option. I used to live in Grand Junction, Colorado - they have two hospitals, Community and St. Mary's. Community is not equipped for much beyond basic care; St. Mary's is (or was - it's been awhile since I checked) the only hospital between Salt Lake City and Denver that was able to provide acute trauma care (class three? four?) Almost everyone goes to St. Mary's; certainly anyone who is very seriously ill or needs advanced surgical care, etc.

So they get most of the patients who, potentially, would be in a state that might require this decision to be made. Sad.

[HockeyMom]

18. Exactly as I commented before

About having only a catholic hospital in town. In fact, before it was taken over by the catholic church, the people in town were actually picketing and fighting for this hospital to NOT be taken over by the church. The people in town did not want their health care ruled by the religious teachings of the catholic church. They said it in pickets, on the local news, etc. It didn't work.

Not only were the rape victims not taken there, woman went elsewhere to have babies if they wanted their tubes tied after giving birth, which the hospital refused to do. Apparently, they lost a lot of business and were saying that they were being slandered and discriminated against, last I heard. I guess they will lose more business now with this END of life issue also.

[laconicsax]

20. Breaking: Rapist Support Group Sets New Rules About Moral Obligations

Story at 6...

[Angry Dragon]

24. They just want total control

screw the person and their wishes

[troubledamerican]

26. Catholic Bishops always want to stick their tubes in people's orifices