General Discussion

This came out years ago. Families could invoke this on their loved one’s behalf. As an American, tho, you have to make certain you put your wishes in writing. Personally I think a brain dead woman in her first trimester of pregnancy counts as someone for whom extraordinary measures should be waived. Too bad she was too young to have thought of making a will or giving someone her Durable Power of Attorney.

The mother of a friend of mine was a devout Catholic, and when she went into a nursing home had already made clear in writing that in the event of total incapacitation she wanted no feeding tubes, nothing but palliative hospice care. And so it was.

The Pope only has influence over his own flock, not the noxious American Evangelicals and their legislators. They don’t listen to women — I doubt they’d listen to any Pope.