Last weekend I notified you of the plight of Rachael Nyirahaabiyambere, an immigrant from Rwanda whose feeding tube was removed at the instigation of Georgetown University Medical Center, a supposedly "Catholic" healing institution. From now on, I'll use the adjective "catholyc" to refer to them.
At that time, I believed her death was inevitable and imminent. Happily, I am proven incorrect. She is still alive. Moreover, as my fellow blogger Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit reports, her feeding tube was restored by court order. It appears that the Alliance Defense Fund and the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network came to the assistance of the woman's family, who had previously been ill-served by lawyers who, at best, had "conflicts of interest". With that assistance, the family obtained the humane help that their mother needs. At least for now that murder is averted.
It's truly a blight on the local church that a secular court had to undo a murderous order instigated by a supposedly "Catholic" institution. Additionally, it is a disgrace that there was not the slightest peep uttered from the offices of the Archdiocese of Washington regarding this murderous situation that was taking place within their boundaries. (Could it be that they were too busy quashing the Pontifical Mass that was scheuled to occur at the Nationa Shrine next month? See my fellow blogger's posts on that debacle.) I also don't recall hearing diddly-squat from the USCCB, those self-reputed champions of the poor and oppressed.
Here's some reminders, from basic Catholic medical ethics. The providing of food and/or water is not extraordinary medical care. It is part of basic care; it is the duty of any medical institution - most especially a Catholic one - to provide that care without condition nor hesitation. Got that, boys and girls of Georgetown?
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