The Roman Catholic Church on Organ Transplantation1
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The Roman Catholic Church on organ transplantation This page was generated automatically upon download from the Globethics.net Library. More information on Globethics.net see https://www.globethics.net. Data and content policy of Globethics.net Library repository see https:// repository.globethics.net/pages/policy Item Type Article Authors Becchi, Paolo Publisher Eubios Ethics Institute Rights With permission of the license/copyright holder Download date 01/10/2021 11:35:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/225383 112 Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 18 (July 2008) race, sex, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or informed on the notion of brain death, and they ideology. Complicated textbooks on bioethics or human encourage the organ donation in the name of the rights will not be useful and, instead, we need to devise Christian charity. There are opposition groups to this a special plan, such as the use of videos and picture way of thinking above all among associations with a books. “traditional” background like Famiglia Domani and In conclusion, the ultimate aim of bioethics is to Fiducia or with a dated background like the Centre for protect human rights and, thereby, reduce human Studies “San Pius X”, which is referred to the suffering and tragedy throughout the world. Utilizing fortnightly si si no no or, again, to catholic associations the UDBHR in bioethics education may help people, like Famiglia e civiltà 3 including healthcare professionals, become more The most authoritative opinion, opposite to the sensitive to ethical problems and work towards making acceptance of a cerebral criterion of death, is the one by the world a better place to live for everyone. If we were Joachim Meisner, Cardinal of Cologne (Germany), wise enough, bioethics education with the UDBHR who, both on official pronouncements to the press, and would work to realize the world where no one will be on an article published on an important German killed or suffered. newspaper declares his opposition to the equivalence between brain death and human death. 4 These are References without a doubt minority opinions, which seem to be in 1 Asai and Oe. A valuable up-to-date compendium of bioethical knowledge. Developing World Bioethics Monferrato (Alessandria) 2000, p.496; this definition itself is 2005; 5: 216-220. quite audacious, even though it can be realized from the 2 Jessica Williams, 50 facts that should change the context that Tettamanzi confines himself to adopt the total world. Revised and updated edition. Icon Books Ltd., brain death one. He reminds Elio Sgreccia, who, even if 2007. aware of the voices of dissent regarding that definition, goes 3 Fumiyo Hataya, Discrimination and Hansen’s on declaring that the subject whose cerebral activity disease. Heubonsha, 2006, Tokyo, in Japanese. definitively stopped, is clinically dead, even though „the 4 Masaki Nakamasa, Kiyoshi Uchide, Tsuneo Niki, introduction of methods of reanimation let breathing and “Human Experiments” and Patient’s Jinkaku-Ken, cardiac activity go on working for a while.“ see: E.SGRECCIA, Manuale di bioetica, Milano 2000, vol. I, p. Ochanomizu Shobou, 2003, Tokyo. in Japanese. 692. 5 Umberto Eco, When the other appears on the 3 It’s not accidental that just the associations Famiglia scene. In Five moral piece. Translated from the Italian Domani e Fiducia have organized an international by Alastair McEwen, Harcourt, INC, San Diego, 1997, convention - I was invited to attend with a communication - 19-30. which has been held in Rome on the 25th -26th October 2002, 6 Atsushi Asai and Miki Fukuyama, Toward on the subject Ai confini della vita: scienza, morale e diritto Successful Bioethics Education. In Darryl Macer editor, a confronto. Among the speakers there were Robert Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Bioethics Education. Spaemann and Joseph Seifert. Spaemann’s paper has been UNESCO Bangkok, 2008, in press. published and is entitled La morte della persona e la morte dell’essere umano, in Lepanto 162/2002. The catholic “antimodern” fortnightly of the Center Study “San Pius X” has recently published one of my tributes on the subject see The Roman Catholic Church on P:BECCHI, I morti cerebrali sono veramente morti quando preleviamo i loro organi ?, in si si no no, XXX (June 2004) organ transplantation1 p. 1-6 (for the same newspaper the tribute has been published in Spanish, Portuguese and in French). An English edition of - Paolo Becchi, Ph.D. this article has been published with the title Are the dead Professor, Hofstrasse 9, CH-6003 Luzern really departed when we remove their Organs?, in: EJAIB, 15, 2005, p.25-29. In Italy the most documented criticism on Switzerland equivalence between brain death and actual death from Email: [email protected] catholic point is in the book of the Benedictine oblate U.TOZZINI, Mors tua vita mea. Espianto di organi umani: In Italy some of the most authoritative Roman la morte è un’ opinione?, Napoli, 2000. The paper by Don G. Catholic thinkers2 seem – in my opinion – not well ROTTOLI, La predazione di organi e le ambiguità di Giovanni Paolo II, in La tradizione cattolica, p. 34-41. The text has been recently published in French in a little volume 1 Translated by Drs. Lenny Pittaluga e Rosangela Barcaro: which moves from the same point: F KNITTEL, G. firstly published in the Italian theological review Asprenas, ROTTOLI, MARIE-DOMINIQUE, Que penser des dons vol. 52, 2005, p.389-401. organs ? La “morte cérébrale”. Les prélèvment d’ organs, 2 We consider for example Cardinal Tettamanzi and Avrillè 2005. Monsignor Sgreccia. Dionigi Tettamanzi identifies death 4 See: J. MEISNER, Erklärung des Erzbischofs von Köln zum with come depassé “in which there is no more hope of a beabsichtigen Transplantationsgesetz, Presseamt des restart of social and conscious life (even if the organic Erzbistums Köln, n. 316, 27 September 1996, see also: Wann functions, like breathing and heart-beat, still going)” see: trennen sich Seele und Leib?, in Frankfurter Allgemeine D.TETTAMANZI, Nuova bioetica cristiana, Casale Zeitung, on 25th January 1997. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 18 (July 2008) 113 hard conflict with the official ones. However, if some, treatments, too.” 7 So it could be concluded that the besides quite limited, documents of Magisterium are patient is still alive (or at least he might be) when his examined, the position of Roman Catholic Church is vital functions are kept still long by life support much more complicated than it appears at first sight. system.8 However, switching it off doesn’t mean to kill This is what I am trying to demonstrate with this paper. him, as with this act it is only avoided delaying It’s impossible not to begin with the famous Pope Pius patient’s death. “On this case there is no direct XII’s speech: arrangement of patient’s life, and neither euthanasia “The natural reason and the Christian morality show which could never be legitimate, even though it causes that man (and anyone who has the function to help the the end of blood circulation; the stoppage of the others) have the right and the obligation, in case of a reanimation attempts is only the indirect cause of the serious illness, to resort to the essential treatments to ceasing of life, and in that case double acting principle preserve life and health. This obligation, that he has must be applied.”9 towards himself, towards God and the human society, We can omit here to debate even though there isn’t and more often than not, towards certain persons, (for sure) direct disposition for life, there is not even derives from a good ordered charity, from the euthanasia, (it depends on the idea of euthanasia we submission to the Creator, from the social justice and want to take); and we don’t want to dwell on double from the justice in the strict sense of the word, and also effect doctrine (widely discussed as the previous one from the pity towards his family. But generally it regarding the difference between ordinary and doesn’t oblige to use extraordinary treatments extraordinary means). The crucial passage in Pope’s (according to the circumstances of persons, places, age speech is another one: the patients, whose brain stopped and culture) and this is to say those remedies that don’t completely working (or as Pius XII says patients that impose extraordinary obligation towards themselves are “in a deep unconsciousness”10) are still alive, but and the others.”5 it’s possible to disconnect them from the respirator, Essentially this means that in a situation where, on even before the definitive stoppage of circulation the basis of medical knowledge, any recovery of the voluntarily occurs, when the physician can exclude patient to conscious life is definitively impossible, (the their recovery to conscious life. The Pope is perfectly problem of the persistent vegetative state didn’t yet aware that just the removal of the life support-machine occur), the physician can “remove the ventilation will provoke on this case the ceasing of blood appliance to let the patient, already practically dead, die circulation and then death within few minutes, however in peace.”6 he thinks that it’s not opposed to the principles of “Practically dead” means that in fact the patient isn’t catholic Church, when the physician is sure of the fatal actually dead, but the physician can remove the prognosis of his patient. In a doubtful case, the Pope respirator because it’s an extraordinary mean. wrote: “In the event that an insoluble doubt occurs, you I’m not going to expand on the widely discussed and can resort to presumptions of law and fact.