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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (160262)	2/10/2009 10:39:27 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 362466

Video Doc Berlusconi Splanin It to the masses Berlusconi says right-to-die woman was 'killed' by Gina Doggett Gina Doggett 25 mins ago ROME (AFP) – The death of Eluana Englaro heightened bitterness in Italy over the right-to-die campaign around her case Tuesday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saying the woman was "killed". Police also had to intervene between rival protesters outside the clinic in Udine where the 38-year-old died on Monday night, three days after she was taken off a life support machine that had kept her alive since a 1992 car accident. Her father had pursued a 10-year campaign for the woman to be allowed to die, but the news of her passing was announced as Italian senators debated legislation aimed at keeping her alive. Berlusconi had tried to override the wishes of Englaro's family and try to keep the woman alive. "Eluana did not die a natural death. She was killed," the prime minister wrote in an opinion article for the right-wing Libero daily. The conservative leader's opponents have accused him of trying to politicise the tragic case. But the Vatican, which retains a strong influence in Italy, also swiftly reacted to the death, calling on God to "forgive" those responsible. "May the Lord welcome her and forgive those who led her there (to her death)," said the Vatican's health minister Javier Lozano Barragan. Police had to separate rival demonstrators who gathered outside the clinic in the northern city of Udine where Englaro died. Members of an anti-euthanasia group shouted "murderers" and "bandits" at a group holding a banner expressing solidarity with Englaro's father. The divide was also reflected in the Italian press, with the leftist La Repubblica hailing "The End of the Ordeal" while Il Giornale, part of Berlusconi's media empire, headlined "They Killed Her." President Giorgio Napolitano last week rejected as unconstitutional an emergency government text that would bar the suspension of food and water to unconscious patients. The prime minister then proposed a change to the constitution that would allow him to issue a decree without the president's signature. Anna Finocchiaro, head of the opposition Democratic Party in the Senate, said Englaro's death derailed a centre-right bid to mount a "devastating political operation, the reduction of the powers of the head of state, emergency decrees without brakes." In an interview with La Repubblica, she accused the ruling centre-right of expressing "callous and irresponsible rage" when some senators, after observing a minute of silence for Englaro, burst into shouts of "murderers." Finocchio accused Berlusconi of "callous profiteering." Court authorities said an autopsy would take place, without specifying a date. Englaro's rapid death took doctors by surprise. Her neurologist had predicted that she would not die before February 17. Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Conference of Bishops, said an autopsy would deliver "justice" to Englaro. "We want to know everything," the daily said. On Monday, the senators ended their heated debate by agreeing to expedite work on a draft law regarding end-of-life issues that has been languishing in committee. Englaro's family won a legal battle to be allowed to let her die after courts said they were satisfied that Englaro's coma was irreversible, and that she had clearly expressed her wish not be kept alive artificially when a close friend fell into a coma after a different accident. While euthanasia is illegal in Italy, patients have the right to refuse care.