The Italian Terri Schiavo

After the order came down to pull the feeding and hydration from Eluana Englaro, it didn’t happen right away because of some very moral doctors and other health care givers around her refusing to hasten her death. Euthanasia is against Italian law, and no order was going to force these ethical and conscientious health providers to violate medical ethics and the natural law to participate in killing.

It has escalated over the past few weeks as another Italian medical center offered to take her in, so they could carry out the order to finish her off. The Italian Parliament intervened yesterday with emergency legislation to stop the process of euthanasia. It only needed the signature of the head of state.

He has now refused to sign it.

The text of the law, entitled “Urgent Provisions on Nutrition and Hydration,” reads, “Pending the approval of a complete and comprehensive legislative framework in the field of end-of-life, nutrition and hydration, as forms of life support physiologically designed to alleviate suffering, cannot under any circumstances be rejected by the person concerned or suspended from caregiver subjects unable to provide for themselves.”

And…

Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic, is under heavy pressure to sign the law which is supported by Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister and head of the government.

But he refused.

Napolitano’s refusal has “frozen” the measure and although there is a procedure in place in Parliament to override his decision, it will take 20 days to implement, by which time Eluana will have been successfully dehydrated to death.

Pray for her, and a return to universal human rights in the world. Starting with a return to sanity.