Madam, - I was disappointed to read Fr Pádraig McCarthy's letter of April 1st. Yes, it is true that a number of prelates condemned withdrawal of Ms Schiavo's feeding tube but withdrawal in similar circumstances is not condemned by the teaching of the Catholic Church.
In 1980 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that it was not necessary to use disproportionate means to sustain life. It spelt out what disproportionate means are: namely, means where the burden to the sick person is disproportionate to the benefit. In the case of someone in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), no benefit accrues. The Church situates this teaching within the context of the human condition - we are all born to die - together with its recognition that the modern technological attitude is threatening to become an affront to the Christian concept of life and the dignity of the human person.
Obviously tube feeding, even of very sick people, is frequently beneficial. However, when it delays nature taking its course without any compensating benefit, it is an abuse of technology. It prevents a person moving on to a new way of living which has been promised by all the great theist religions. - Yours, etc.,
ÁILÍN DOYLE, Howth, Co Dublin.
Madam, - The debate surrounding the case of Terry Schiavo hinges on the fact that in the absence of explicit advance instructions regarding treatment,it was not possible to be sure what Ms Schiavo's views were on her predicament. It is deeply ironic that those representing her views, her husband, mother and father, reached opposite conclusions as to what way she would have wanted to be treated.
Neither side can claim with absolute certainty that they knew the right thing to do. However I have never met anyone who would like to be kept in a persistent vegetative state for years, with the subsequent removal of dignity and loss of quality of life that this entails. I would find the burden placed on my own family unbearable if I suffered a similar fate.
Death, although final, can offer comfort. I was privileged to be present when my mother died from ovarian cancer two years ago; seeing her pass away quietly following a full life and a short illness has greatly helped me come to terms with my own mortality. Also I have found that my relationship with my mother continues; it has just taken another form. - Yours, etc.,
ROBERT CHESTER, Woodfield, Scholarstown Road, Dublin 16.