ITALY:AN ITALIAN father and his advisers were looking for a place for his daughter to die yesterday as doctors, prelates and politicians wrangled over a judgment that critics said opened the way for euthanasia in the Vatican's backyard.
An appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Beppino Englaro from Lecco near Milan could order the removal of the feeding tube that keeps his 37-year-old daughter Eulana alive. The judges' decision took immediate effect. But the prosecution service, which had opposed his application, has 60 days in which to appeal and yesterday signalled that it was awaiting the full judgment before making a decision.
The case of Eulana Englaro could turn into a drama like that of Terri Schiavo, the American who spent 15 years in a persistent vegetative state and was allowed to die in 2005 amid nationwide controversy.
The Milan appeals court decided that Ms Englaro's coma was irreversible. And in what, for Italy, was a sensational innovation, the judges said the deciding factor should be the patient's own wishes, as recalled by her family and friends.
Several commentators interpreted the ruling as an appeal for legislation allowing Italians to make so-called "living wills" , stipulating what life-sustaining treatment they want - or do not want - in the event of their being incapacitated.
Umberto Veronesi, a renowned cancer specialist, called the judgment a victory for "the self-determination of the individual".
The reaction from the Vatican was dismay. Msgr Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said that what had been authorised was euthanasia. He added: "A coma is a form of life and no one can take it upon themselves to put an end to the life of a person."
Ms Englaro's conscious existence came to a violent end 16 years ago in a car accident. The impact smashed her skull and broke her neck. There were doubts she would survive. But within three months, she could breathe by herself, though all attempts over four years to elicit a reaction from her have failed.
"The clinical situation observed in 1996, 2001 and 2007 has remained wholly unchanged," said Prof Riccardo Massei. The only visible sign his patient is alive is that she opens her eyes in the morning and closes them at night.