Good Time To Pull Plug

[aliciar]

Ok, remember a while ago there was a story of a woman who was brain dead and she was kept alive by machines for several years and then the husband decided to turn off the machines and let her go and her family fought that saying she may still be alive. After a long time, the then governor of Florida decided to go ahead and let her go. What is the Church’s teachings if someone is brain dead, is it okay to let him go or keep him alive? I myself would not want to be kept alive like that.

 

[ALLGIRLS]

Good evening.

Just for clarification, if you’re speaking of Terri Schaivo (sp?), she wasn’t “brain dead”, she was brain damaged, to what extent was not fully determined, and she wasn’t “being kept alive by machines”, she just had a feeding tube. She could breathe on her own, and all of her organs were functioning, she just couldn’t move (except involuntarily, I don’t think, I’m not 100% sure about that) or speak or swallow. And her estranged husband (he refused to divorce her, but was living with another woman with whom he’d fathered children) didn’t “pull the plug” (which “plug” does one “pull”, exactly? That terminology is so disrespectful, IMO!), he had her feeding tube removed, which caused her to starve and dehydrate to death, over a period of a couple of weeks. Horrible, brutal death.

The Church’s teaching regarding what happened to Mrs. Schaivo specifically, removing nutrition and hydration in order to cause death, is that it was murder. However, the Church DOES NOT teach that one must be kept alive “at all costs”. If one is truly being “kept alive by machines”, i.e., a ventilator, heart and lung machine, etc., then it is ok to turn those off and allow the person to die naturally (as opposed to being starved to death, which is not natural). One can even remove food and water from a terminally ill person (Schaivo wasn’t terminally ill) if it isn’t helping them and only making them more uncomfortable.

There’s a section in the Catechism about this, but I don’t have it with me right now. I’m sure someone will come along and post it.

In Christ,

Ellen

 

[Debra_C]

Ok, remember a while ago there was a story of a woman who was brain dead and she was kept alive by machines for several years and then the husband decided to turn off the machines and let her go and her family fought that saying she may still be alive. After a long time, the then governor of Florida decided to go ahead and let her go. What is the Church’s teachings if someone is brain dead, is it okay to let him go or keep him alive? I myself would not want to be kept alive like that.

I believe the Church allows for an individual or family to refuse what is called extraordinary care in the case that it offers little or no hope of recovery

the case you are referring to I believe is Terry Schiavo. She was not brain dead, but was in a persistent vegetative state. this means she was unresponsive, presumably due to brain damage ro other trauma. the family argued that she was at least partially reponsive, though few professionals concurred. The point was, she was not actively dying at all. She needed no help breathing or keeping her heart beating. However, she was unable to eat or drink on her own as she did not have good use of her limbs, or even the ability to chew and swallow. They removed feeding and hydration tubes and allowed her to starve/dehydrate to death.

The Church has said that food and hydration are NOT extraordinary care. A respirator, however, or invasive major surgery, organ transplant, massive radiation or chemo, etc. may be. Whether it is reasonable to refuse it has to be assessed on a case by case basis. Some factors to consider are whether the treatment is likely to extend the person’s life, or will it merely prolong suffering with little to no hope of recovery, and what sort of risks/suffering is involved in the treatment itself?

 

[saturn_jupiter]

Terry Schiavo was the woman’s name. It was the judges and her …“husband”…in Florida that killed her. She didn’t have a will drawn up stating she wanted to ‘have the plug pulled’. The governor tried to stop it from happening, in response to most of Florida asking him to do something about this situation. Ultimately the courts overruled his actions and set a precident for disabled people by allowing a woman to die, even though she had nothing in writing. ((I lived in Florida during the time of this tragedy.))

Terry was responsive ~ she was terrified of her husband when he entered the room and she reacted positively to her nurses who would come to turn her in bed. She was on a feeding tube, not full life support.

They wouldn’t even let her receive Final Communion, because it would have proven that she was responsive, and could eat on her own.

I don't believe people should be "pulling the plug" on themselves or anybody else. It is not our place to play God and decide who lives and who dies. It concerns me when I hear people say they "wouldn't want to live like that" when they have no idea if they would be able to come out of a situation like that. :)  What if they were to come out of it and live a normal life?  My cat is a perfect example of this. She was having seizures and had liver and kidney failure at one point, but I felt it wasn't my place to "put her to death". She's been with us now for another 2 years, and she's happy, she talks a lot, she zooms around the house, and we give her medicine to control the seizures. I'm sure glad I have more time with her! :heaven:

Are we going to let suicidal people kill themselves because they are suffering? Think about it. They may think their life has no value, yet in time, with a little work, that outlook of theirs could completely change. 

People have value. And even bad situations can turn around into something more positive.

When doctors ask me if I have a "living will" I say "Yes! Please KEEP ME ALIVE! If something happens where I zone out -- just WAIT for me, because I WILL COME BACK!!" lol :)

 

[Seatuck]

They didn’t pull the plug , they starved and dehydrated her to death.

It was horrible and incompatible with Church teaching on the dignity of life and death. The Church teaches that we always provide water and nutrition unless they cause more harm and suffering to the actively dying. The church does not force extaordinary means of medical treatment on anyone. Her brain was intact enough to keep her alive. She seemed to be responsive and felt pain during her menstrual cycle. Apparently God thought it was valuable to keep her Alive even if her “husband” and his cohorts did not.

 

[Langdell]

I myself would not want to be kept alive like that.

You should definitely have a living will (also called an “advanced medical directive”). It will make sure that you are treated according to your wishes if you’re unable to communicate. It will also save your family members from the anguish of trying to decide what you would have wanted without really knowing.

There are various “Catholic-approved” living wills available on-line. Here’s one from the Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania: pacatholic.org/bishops-statements/living-will-and-health-care-power-of-attorney-2007/
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