Proponents of euthanasia in Mexico invoke Pope John Paul II to aid their cause
Proponents of euthanasia in Mexico are now invoking the name of Pope John Paul II to argue that what they are proposing as euthanasia is exactly what John Paul sought in the last days of his life: the removal of all extraordinary life support devices so he could die in peace.
While it is true that John Paul II asked for and received the removal of extraordinary means of life support, that is not euthanasia. Instead, it is something medically known as orthotanasia: to avoid therapeutic cruelty to the terminally ill -- to prevent the abuse of extraordinary and disproportionate medical means to prolong life with no possibility of recovery, and at the same time to provide the terminally ill patient the palliative medicines and affective support to have a dignified death and never sink into extreme pain and desperation. "What the Holy Father asked for was the suspension of the extraordinary medical means, but that has nothing to do with what is known as euthanasia," said Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico City, answering the argument of the local legislators that proposed the Life Testament Law for the Federal District (of which Mexico City forms part), which would permit terminally ill patients to renounce every form of medical care to prolong life.
Read the rest of the story here: California Catholic Daily
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"In Cordibus Jesu et Mariae"
