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Bishops Intervene in Terminally Ill UK Man’s Right to Life Appeal

LONDON, May 20, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales intervened Thursday in the appeal of a terminally ill man who is back in court to defend his right to life. Leslie Burke successfully challenged the General Medical Council (GMC) guidance on the treatment of the terminally ill last July; the Court of Appeal in London is hearing the case now.

Although the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) supports Burke’s desire to assure his continued assisted nutrition and hydration (ANH) in the event that he is unable to communicate such a desire verbally, the CBCEW worries that the precedent set by the High Court in its decision in Burke’s favour last year would open the door to abuse.

“The statement of principles in the High Court judgment has potentially dangerous implications for assisted suicide and euthanasia,” the CBCEW warned Thursday in their intervention. “The High Court judgment, in finding in [Burke’s] favour and declaring the GMC Guidance unlawful, did so by elevating the principle of autonomy to an ‘absolute,’ so that in the provision of ANH and other life-prolonging treatment, doctors must regard the patient’s wishes as simply ‘determinative.’ This absolutizing of personal autonomy has potentially serious implications for all forms of medical treatment,” CBCEW said.

“If, for example, patients could require their doctor to withhold or withdraw life sustaining treatment by a planned sequence intended precisely and expressly to assist them to commit suicide, the ‘autonomy principle’ could legally oblige doctors to become complicit in assisting suicide.”

The CBCEW said they do not wish the court to rule against the wishes of Les Burke, but that “CBCEW hopes that the Appeal Court will correct the imbalance in the High Court judgment regarding the legal effect of autonomy. In particular, it hopes that the Appeal Court will indicate expressly that the principle of autonomy, whilst highly important, cannot be regarded as an absolute, and determinative of what course of action doctors and other health care professionals must pursue in order to discharge their duty of care towards their patients.”

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com that the CBCEW’s concern is a legitimate one.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05051705.html
See the Bishop’s site:
http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/cn/05/050517B.htm

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