Eluana Englaro has been in a vegetative state since an accident when she was 20; was moved to clinic where the procedure will take place yesterday
Eluana Englaro has been in a vegetative state since an accident when she was 20; was moved to clinic where the procedure will take place yesterday
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Alive or dead? Eluana Englaro before her accident in 1992. pic/ap |
The Catholic church and pro-life activists have mounted a campaign to keep Eluana Englaro alive, denouncing what they say would be her execution. Others contend that Englaro's father is trying to give her the dignified death she had sought.
Englaro has been in a vegetative state since a car accident in 1992, when she was 20. Her father has led a protracted court battle to disconnect her feeding tube, insisting it was her wish.
An Italian court in the summer granted his request, setting off a political storm in the country.
Englaro was transferred by ambulance to the northeastern city of Udine from Lecco.
Protests
Her nighttime transfer yesterday reignited a bitter national debate.
A crowd of anti-euthanasia activists heckled the ambulance as it was leaving Lecco. Some of the activists shouted slogans such as "Eluana, Wake Up!" "Don't kill her!" and "Eluana Is Alive."
While the Pope said euthanasia was a "false solution" to suffering, his health minister, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, said removing Englaro's feeding tube "is tantamount to an abominable assassination, and the church will always say that out loud".
The family's lawyer refused to discuss what steps would now be taken to end Englaro's life. But news reports said the procedure to disconnect her feeding tube would begin in a few days and would take weeks to conclude.
Amato De Monte, the anesthetist who escorted Englaro on the ambulance, said she was very different from the youthful woman who has been presented in the media.
He defended the clinic's choice in the face of mounting criticism, saying in an interview, "Eluana will not suffer because Eluana died 17 years ago."
By law, Italy does not allow euthanasia. Patients have a right to refuse treatment, but there is no law that allows them to give advance directions on what treatment they wish to receive if they become unconscious. Many have urged parliament to adopt legislation to fill the hole. But the issue is charged with emotions and religious overtones.u00a0
Remember Terry Schiavo?
The Englaro case has drawn comparisons to the case of Terry Schiavo (pictured right), the American woman who was at the centre of a right-to-die debate until her death in 2005.
Schiavo's husband, who wanted her feeding tube removed against her parents' wishes, prevailed in a polarising battle that reached Congress, then-president George W Bush and the Supreme Court.
The Vatican had also joined the debate, condemning Schiavo's death as "arbitrarily hastened".
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