Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: The New Catholic Debate (Philosophy and Medicine Book 93)

Pope John Paul II surprised much of the medical world in 2004 with his strongly worded statement insisting that patients in a persistent vegetative state should be provided with nutrition and hydration. While many Catholic bioethicists defended the Pope's claim that the life of all human beings, even those in a persistent vegetative state or a coma, was worth protecting, others argued that the Pope's position marked a shift from the traditional Catholic teaching on the withdrawal of medical treatment at the end of life. The debate among Catholic bioethicists over the Pope's statement only grew more intense during the controversy surrounding Terry Schiavo's death in 2005, as bioethicists on both sides of the debate argued about the legitimacy of removing her feeding tubes. This collection of essays by some of the most prominent Catholic bioethicists addresses the Pope's statements, the moral issues surrounding artificial feeding and hydration, the refusal of treatment, and the ethics of care for those at the end of life. -- from publisher description Front Matter....Pages I-XII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Why do Unresponsive Patients Still Matter?....Pages 3-38 Are We Morally Obliged to Feed PVS Patients Till Natural Death?....Pages 39-60 Caring for Persons in the “Persistent Vegetative State” and Pope John Paul II’s March 20 2004 Address “On Life-Sustaining Treatments and the Vegetative State”....Pages 61-76 Food and Fluids: Human Law, Human Rights and Human Interests....Pages 77-100 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 Quality of Life and Assisted Nutrition....Pages 103-110 Towards Ethical Guidelines for the Use of Artificial Nutrition and Hydration....Pages 111-122 Understanding the Ethics of Artificially Providing Food and Water....Pages 123-140 The Ethics of Pope John Paul’s Allocution on Care of the PVS Patient: A Response to J.L.A. Garcia....Pages 141-162 Front Matter....Pages 163-163 Reflections on the Papal Allocution Concerning Care For PVS Patients....Pages 165-178 The Papal Allocution Concerning Care for PVS Patients: A Reply to Fr. O’Rourke....Pages 179-188 Response to Patrick Lee....Pages 189-192 The Morality of Tube Feeding PVS Patients: A Critique of the View of Kevin O’Rourke, O.P.....Pages 193-210 Front Matter....Pages 211-211 Ten Errors Regarding End of Life Issues, and Especially Artificial Nutrition and Hydration....Pages 213-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-229 Why do unresponsive patients still matter? / Anthony Fisher Are we morally obliged to feed pvs patients till natural death? / Michael Degnan Caring for persons in the "persistent vegetative state" and Pope John Paul II's March 20 2004 address on "life-sustaining treatments and the vegetative state" / William E. May Food and fluids : human law, human rights and human interests / Jacqueline Laing Quality of life and assisted nutrition / Alfonso Gómez-Lobo Towards ethical guidelines for the use of artificial nutrition and hydration / Joseph Boyle Understanding the ethics of artificially providing food and water / J.L.A. Garcia The ethics of Pope John Paul II's allocution on care of the PVS patient : a response to J.L.A. Garcia / Peter J. Cataldo Reflections on the papal allocution concerning care for PVS patients / Kevin O'Rourke The papal allocution concerning care for PVS patients : a reply to Fr. O'Rourke / Patrick Lee Response to Patrick Lee / Kevin O'Rourke The morality of tube feeding PVS patients : a critique of the view of Kevin O'Rourke, O.P. / Mark S. Latkovic Ten errors regarding end of life issues, and especially artificial nutrition and hydration / Christopher Tollefsen. Pope John Paul II surprised the medical world in 2004 with his statement insisting that patients in a vegetative state should be provided with nutrition and hydration. This collection of essays addresses the Pope's statement, the moral issues surrounding artificial feeding and hydration, the refusal of treatment and the ethics of end-of-life care