Italy’s Terri Schiavo
Italian courts are grappling with their own Terri Schiavo, a 34- year-old woman, Eluana Englaro, who has been in a coma for 15 years after an automotive accident. Her elderly father, Beppino, wants to turn off her feeding tube because she is living in an "inhuman and degrading condition".
The case has been working its way through the courts. A year ago, a court in Milan refused to authorise removal of nutrition and hydration. But earlier this month, Italy’s highest appeals court ordered a retrial. The Cassation Court declared that a person’s right to decide what medical treatment they receive should be respected even if doing so would cause their death.
Doctors say Eluana will never regain consciousness. Otherwise, however, she is healthy and has never required life-support systems. Her father asserts that she said plainly during her conscious life that she would not wish to live in a vegetative state. He has often compared her situation with Terri Schiavo’s.
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Could newborns solve the kidney shortage crisis?
Kidneys from newborn babies could be a “game-changing” solution to organ shortage crisis, according to an American study. According to...
Chinese sperm bank pushes the boundaries in its marketing
With a birth rate of 1.09 and a declining population, there is a sense of urgency in China about reversing...
Chinese scientists grow humanized kidneys in pigs
Chinese scientists have successfully created chimeric embryos containing a combination of human and pig cells. When transferred into surrogate pig...
People born from donor gametes in UK will be able to doorknock their dad
As of October 1, 18-year-olds in the United Kingdom conceived with donor gametes will be able to find out who...
British teen dies after doctors refuse her request for experimental treatment
ST, the 19-year-old woman at the centre of a dispute about mental competence and healthcare in Britain, has died of...
Dodging a bullet: how a report recommending ‘chestfeeding’ and inclusive pronouns almost became the norm in British maternity wards
A transgender maternity report commissioned by public health authorities in the UK last year made headlines by recommending the use...