Allowed to die? Part 1

"The sick person in a vegetative state, awaiting recovery or a natural end, still has the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.) . . . I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory..." [read]    - Pope John Paul II

Dory at Wittenburg Gate wrote a very thought-provoke piece:

"No one has suggested that Terri should be 'allowed to die' because she is dying anyway. What is being suggested is that she should be caused to die because her life is not worth living. 'I wouldn't want to live that way,' people are fond of saying. Well, thanks for sharing, but that's not really the point, is it? What if I decided that I wouldn't want to live as a diabetic with all the challenges that disease presents. Does that then justify me killing a diabetic child or spouse? Dare I argue that to suggest otherwise is to interfere with 'a personal family decision'?" [read more]

My apologies for not having posted over the last couple days. I was really sick this weekend, laid out on the couch with a temperature and no energy to even get up and eat. It was pretty brutal. But thankfully today I was feeling considerably better (since I did have to go to work, after all) and I suspect I'll be feeling even better yet tomorrow. I have some things I want to post about, so I may get to that tomorrow. We'll see how I'm feeling.

Added some new blogs to the Blogroll. Check them out.