Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: Required in all cases?

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As a nurse, I’m interested in the subject. Our priest recently gave a talk on it. He is a medical ethics expert and is on a hospital ethics board, and has participated in decison making on the state and national level. He stated that what is considered ordinary means medically can be considered extraordinary means in the decision making process depending on whether there is a grave burden for the patient in continueing treatment. He said that what is a grave burden for one person is not for another, and that this is entirely subjective.

Specifically, in the hospital we sometimes receive a patient for ‘comfort measures only’. This is sometimes a ‘post code’ patient, which means that they’ve had a catastophic event such as a stroke or heart attack, which led to a code being performed and breathing and respiration being reestablished. In these cases, their mental status has been affected and the family forced to make decisions. Sometimes this decision involves discontinueing IV fluids. In other words, because the patient can no longer swallow, they are allowed to die naturally.

At our priest’s talk, there were a few people that beleve that all means should be usd to keep someone alive and they viewed withdrawel of fluids or tube feeding as euthanasia, esp in light of the Pope’s recent allocution, which our priest specifically discussed. He said that the media was deliberately misleading the public regarding it in order to make the Church look silly.

Anyways, these are just a few of the things discussed. I know according to Hospice research, a death from dehydration is not a n agonizing one, but actually causes euphoria in the patient. Also, artificial hydration in the case of cancer causes more pain in the dying process.
 
Terms like “ordinary means” and “extraordinary means” can be confusing because they’re a little more vague than specifics like “feeding” and “hydration”.

If I deny a patient nutrition and/or hydration, that patient will die. Further, he will not die as a result of the condition that brought him into my care, but rather as a result of my having denied him the necessities of life. In other words, I will have caused his death.

The short, simple appearance of that statement doesn’t acknowledge the very real emotional struggle that accompanies each of these decisions. I don’t envy your being in that situation on a daily basis.
 
I would have to ask. What is the prupose of such treatment? Prolonging life a couple more days before the patient dies? What will the quality of life be before the patient dies (more/less painful) ? Also, what is considered extraordinary is very subjective. Anyone who was born in the early 20th century considers space flight extraordinary, it hardly makes national news anymore unless there is some sort of problem.

Although the Pope has recently said that feeding tubes are to be considered a normal method of living, the patient has the right to pass away in a dignified manner.
 
Might I recommend:

ncbcenter.org/

The National Catholic Bioethic Center is helpful because of the very fast pace growth of medical science. No Catholic computer should be without its link.
 
I am a nurse also and I work in hospice. I went 16 yrs to Catholic Schools. I love my Catholic Faith and will follow the Pope totally in obedience. I had always heard that extraordinary means to preserve life were not required by the Catholic church, so I was always comfortable with someone dying naturally in God’s timing. When people are dying they do not want to eat or drink. Both of my family members did not want to eat or drink when they died either, both had cancer. So I offer my patients food and water, but if they do not want to take it - I do not push it. None of my patients die with artificial hydration or IV’s- they just die . We call the priest or reverand and the family and they come in and the patient dies naturally. We don’t hasten it or hinder it. Now I am confused. Isn’t this the way people died since the beginning of time? Sharon
 
Being older, my dh & I have discussed this. Neither of us wants artificial feeding or hydration, that is, iv’s. If we are too old & too sick to eat or drink - that’s it, it’s time to die. However, if there is a decent chance of living, then we’re ok with it.

If a person is ready to die, artificicial feeding & hydration just makes it more painful & longer to die.

What’s more, we would rather die at home than in a hospital. Hard to do that if you’re hooked up to iv’s, monitors & whatnot.
 
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