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Post by Young Ireland on Apr 29, 2018 15:59:43 GMT
What do people think here of the Alfie Evans case? To me, it seems to be clear that this was a case of euthanasia, as the doctors removed the boy's hydration and feeding tubes. I also think that the attitude of the courts struck me as rather unfeeling and heartless, especially as the Italians had offered to transport Alfie themselves to the hospital at no cost to Britain. OK, the treatment offered there might not have worked, but removing life support is not going to solve anything. There do appear to be a minority of Catholics who side with the hospital, including Mark Shea: www.patheos.com/blogs/markshea/2018/04/how-i-spent-the-an-afternoon-and-how-i-never-want-to-spend-another-afternoon.html, but I can't see how one can support the doctors in this case. I take his point that Alfie's plight has been used by some people to further their own agenda, and that this is indeed wrong (I'm thinking of the denunciations of universal healthcare, advocacy of gun rights, and the promotion of questionable cures), but I don't think that justifies turning a blind eyes to what is essentially a deliberate attempt to euthanise a child, especially given the strong stand that the Holy Father has taken on the issue.
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Post by maolsheachlann on Apr 30, 2018 5:49:38 GMT
No surprise in the case of Mark Shea. His writing reflects an ever-deepening hatred for the pro-life movement, which he sees as drawing attention from the left-wing agenda he considers more important. I think he does not want to criticize the hospital in this case because he can't bear to criticize nationalised medicine. (And, by the way, I myself don't think the question of private vs. public health-care is particularly relevant to this case. Look at the case of Terry Schiavo.)
Shea has no problem using tragic events to further his own agenda when it suits him.
The whole case was a clear example of authority deciding a particular life is not worth living, or preserving.
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Post by maolsheachlann on May 2, 2018 20:13:44 GMT
Shea is a good cautionary tale on the dangers of political correctness. It sucks you in.
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Post by hibernicus on May 4, 2018 21:30:21 GMT
Mark Shea has certainly gone off the deep end on this, which I'm sorry to see. Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society has a series of analyses of the fate of Alfie Evans: www.lmschairman.org/2018/05/alfie-and-parental-rights.htmlwww.lmschairman.org/2018/05/alfie-vs-system.htmlwww.lmschairman.org/2018/05/alfie-and-natural-law.htmlwww.lmschairman.org/2018/05/alfie-and-end-of-life-care.htmlSome points about the whole case: It brings home very sharply how the concept of parental rights as the default position has been eroded and replaced by the idea that the state and its experts always know what's best. I fear the children's rights referendum has advanced the same process here. The judge admitted that the parents were genuinely trying to assist Alfie and were fully aware of the medical issues, but he still decreed their wishes should be set aside. I have been doing a bit of Newman-reading lately, and what strikes me is the general awareness among Catholics of the day of the fact that state institutions were founded on beliefs which were often alien to Catholicism, that downright unfairness and even outrageous bias were a real possibility. The contrast with the English Catholic bishops' statement in support of the hospital, which amounted to saying that experts always know best and completely excluded the possibility that they might be acting on morally unacceptable assumptions or downright religious bias, is very striking. Eccles has a lethally precise dissection of Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool's attitude: ecclesandbosco.blogspot.ie/2018/04/the-gospel-according-to-st-malcolm.html
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