Schiavo Mediterranean Style: Italy Halts Effort to Terminate Woman in Vegetative State
jonathanturley
Italy is in the midst of its own Terri Schiavo controversy. Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has intervened to prevent doctors from carrying out the wishes of Eluana Englaro and her family to discontinued life support. Englaro has been in a coma for 17 years after a car crash in 1992. Berlusconi consulted with the Vatican and declared: “This is murder. I would be failing to rescue her. I’m not a Pontius Pilate.” The prime minister added that one of the things that persuaded him is that she was “in the condition to have babies.”
Her father Beppino has stressed that the doctors were trying to carry out his daughter clearly stated wishes. The case has now divided the country, which With politicians intervening on both sides, much like our circus over the Schiavo matter. For a prior column, click here. Berlusconi has allied himself with the demands of the Vatican, stating “We have to stop this crime against humanity.”
