subject: 'austraLasia' #422

SALESIAN MORAL PHILOSOPHER WEIGHS IN ON MARY-JODIE DEBATE

Julian Fox

MELBOURNE: 22nd Sept -- Most readers would be aware of the ethical and very much heartfelt dilemma facing a Catholic couple in Great Britain - the Siamese twins, 'Mary and Jodie' are not predicted to survive in their conjoined situation, according to medical opinion, and a Bristish court has decreed that they should be separated, despite the almost certain consequence of the death of one of the twins.

Australian Salesian and Director of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Medical Ethics, Dr. Norman Ford, has responded to 'The Times' invitation to comment online on Archbishop Murphy-O'Connor's defence of the parents who do not wish to follow the court's decision. Fr. Ford's letter reads as follows:

"I agree with the Archbishop for several reasons. The state should act to save the life of a new-born regardless of the parents's conscientious objections in the case of a life-saving blood transfusion. However, this approach would not apply to justify the killing of Mary by surgically separating her from Jodie against the wishes of the parents. There is no guarantee that Jodie will survive this separation for a long time, let alone in good health. Furthermore, in this case the parents rightly object to killing Mary to save Jodie. The prohibition against intentional and deliberate killing of an innocent person is an important pillar of the legal system. It guarantees equality of all before the law, regardless of age, state of health or impairment. Even if the separation might be legally permissible, this does not imply it is legally necessary to impose the surgical separation. We are dealing with extraordinary or disproportionate treatment in view of the outcome reasonably expected. In which case, there is no duty to have recourse to separation. What high-tech surgery makes medically feasible does not imply it automatically becomes a therapeutic imperative. The parents's views should not be overridden unless it is certain their position is unreasonable or negligent".