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End of Life

Rise up...and honour the person of the aged man: and fear the Lord thy God. I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:32) 

Dignity 

The Second Vatican Council condemned "all offenses against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and willful suicide...(Gaudium et Spes, No. 27).

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Respect for Life

An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

 

(However), Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 2277 -2278)

" Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. "  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2279)

©2024 by Our Lady of Life, Tucson, AZ

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