Bishop protests withdrawal of food and water from Catholic patient

Bishop Mark O'Toole

The Bishop of Plymouth, Bishop Mark O'Toole has expressed his concern at a Court's judgement to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration from RS - a Catholic man in a coma at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust after a heart attack in early November.

"My prayers are with the patient, his wife and family, and for all those involved in his care. The decision of the court to allow for the withdrawal of hydration and nutrition is very worrying. That it is deemed to be in the best interests of the patient more so. Providing food and water to very sick patients - even if by artificial means - is a basic level of care. This is care that we must strive to give whenever possible."

The Anscombe Bioethics Centre concurred with this view. They said in a statement: 'Despite his well-attested views, on the 7th January the Court declared it legally permissible to withdraw food and fluids from the patient, who had once previously stated that "every life is precious and that you must hold onto life, and also that if anything happened to him, he would want all steps to be taken to save him but that if he was beyond saving, he did not want to be kept alive."

'At the time of writing provision of food and water has been restored until an appeal can be made to the European Court of Human Rights.

'In a statement on the moral reasoning shown by judges in this case, Anscombe Bioethics Centre Director, Professor David Albert Jones, voices his strong regret that "expert opinion on the view of the Catholic Church was not thought appropriate [by the Court]."

'Prof Jones explained: "When, as in the RS case, a Catholic is not known to dissent from the Church's teaching, then this should guide the interpretation of the person's previous statements. In this context, rejection of being "kept alive" when "beyond saving" most naturally refers to rejection of intensive medical treatment and ventilation where there is no hope of recovery, not to rejection of nutrition and hydration where they are effective in sustaining life."

'He added: "from a Catholic perspective, to provide food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty is a corporal work of mercy. Patients should not be abandoned to die from lack of nutrition or hydration, however that is best provided."

'Had evidence of this teaching been presented, it might have helped the interpretation of the remarks made. Prof Jones said: "Rejection of life sustaining treatment by a Catholic patient should not be presumed to include clinically assisted nutrition and hydration unless explicitly stated."

'The thoughts of the staff of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre are with RS and with his family at this time and we assure them of our prayers for him and for all those close to him.'

LINK

Anscombe Briefing Paper - Depriving people of food and water despite their previously expressed religious beliefs http://bioethics.org.uk/foodandfluidsbriefing.pdf