By Louis Brown, First Things, 2 . 22 . 24
Louis Brown Jr. is executive director of the Christ Medicus Foundation, and associate director of the Center for Law and the Human Person at Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.
A faithful and inspiring Catholic man was battling cancer earlier this year. Looking for hospice care, he and his legal guardian considered one provider. It soon became clear, however, that the hospice would not provide him with life-sustaining basic nutrition. He went with another option of care. Tragically, it is not rare for health care entities to refuse patients life-sustaining nutrition. As a result, patients can end up dying not because of an illness but because of starvation. This kind of passive euthanasia is just the tip of the iceberg of the throwaway culture that pervades much of American health care. The United States urgently needs to revitalize its respect for the dignity of patients and protect their human and civil rights. This effort will require: educating the public on the dignity of the human person in all stages of life; the renewal of health care law and policy; and forming a coalition of civil support. ….
