UK Mental Capacity Bill Could Lead to Another Terri Schiavo Tragedy

American Terri Schiavo’s death on 31st March in Florida, California - 13 days after the removal of her feeding tube by a court order, has shocked the world’s pro-lifers and evangelical Christians. The debates related to the application of euthanasia and complex ethical issues are expected to be pushed to an even higher peak.

In the UK, pro-lifers have stepped up their protest against the legislation of the proposed Mental Capacity Bill, saying that it would permit euthanasia via back door methods and could lead to another "Terri Schiavo tragedy".

The proposed Mental Capacity Bill claims to reinforce the rights of the mentally incapacitated patients who are terminally ill or dying. Under the bill, these patients will be able to appoint a relative or friend to make future decisions on their behalf and will allow people with no-one to act for them to leave instructions regarding their future treatment.

Europe's largest pro-life organisation, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) based in London, has sent its deep condolences to the Schiavo family. With the proposed Mental Capacity Bill approaching the final stage to becoming statute law in Britain, SPUC has called for an amendment to ensure that people granted power of attorney are not given authority to make life and death healthcare decisions on behalf of mentally incapacitated patients.

The Bill has already passed three readings in the House of the Lords. It will return to the House of Commons on Tuesday 5th April, when it may be ready to be added to the statute book. The concern of pro-lifers is therefore very desperate.

John Smeaton, SPUC national director, commented, "SPUC has continued to fight for patients in the UK like Terri since Tony Bland, a patient in a similar condition, was also killed by judicial fiat in 1993."

Tony Bland was a young man being described as a "persistent vegetative state" after severe brain injuries. The House of Lords upheld a landmark court decision saying it was legal to withdraw tube feeding in 1993. Pro-lifers were outraged and described that Bland was "dehydrated and starved to death".

Smeaton said, "Deliberate killing by dehydration has become more prevalent since the 1993 Bland judgment. The Government is determined not to accept any amendment which would overturn the Bland judgement. The Bland judgement opened the door for doctors to dehydrate and starve to death certain mentally incapacitated patients."

Smeaton is concerned that the proposed Mental Capacity Bill will "extend the principles of the Bland decision to ALL mentally incapacitated patients." And the failure to address this problem will have "profound repercussions".

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, released a statement saying, "It is a moral obligation to provide a person with food and water unless the means of doing so become useless or unnecessarily burdensome.

"The removal of Terri Schiavo’s means of nourishment has deliberately brought about her premature death and I regret this very much.

"My prayers are with her family at this time. May she rest in peace."

CMF general secretary Peter Saunders warned earlier that the Schiavo case demonstrated how "decisions made by those close to a patient can be swayed by personal interests and financial gain."

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said he hoped that Schiavo's death "rightly disturbed consciences."

"There is no doubt that no exceptions can be allowed to the principle of the sacredness of life from the moment of conception until its natural end. Besides being a principle of Christian ethics, this is also a principle of human civility. We can only hope that this dramatic experience leads to a maturation among the public of a greater awareness of human dignity and leads to a greater safeguarding of life, including on a legal level," he said.