ACADEMY FOR LIFE: NO TO EUTHANASIA, NO TO ASSISTED SUICIDE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 26, 1999 (VIS) - The Church's condemnation of euthanasia and assisted suicide has been reiterated in the first days of meetings of the Fifth General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, according to a communique made public today by participants in the assembly. The four-day meeting in the Vatican's Old Synod Hall began on February 24 on the theme "Death and the Dying Person."

"What has emerged with force," says the communique, "is the Church's position of condemnation of death which is inflicted or administered because of 'false pity'. According to Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 'euthanasia and assisted suicide represent a double attack on life, even if there is the presumed will of the patient to leave this earthly life'."

Bishop Sgreccia, adds the communique, "appealed to 'the reasonable forces of society' to side against behavior of abandoning the terminally ill and against administering death to a person who is dying. He also appealed for appropriate care for those who are ill, in particular stopgap measures and home care."

The communique explains that the juridical aspects of euthanasia were addressed in the meeting, looking at those countries where it is illegal, but not punishable in a court, to those which have "a criteria of justified necessity, which means 'a lesser evil' (euthanasia) in order to avoid a great one (the patient's suffering)."

The communique concludes with a summary of the Church's position: "What is important is to maintain the quality of life of the patient, even during their last days, without having recourse to aggressive therapy and without causing direct anticipation of death."

ACAD-V;DEATH; DYING PERSON;...;SGRECCIA;VIS;19990226;Word: 290;