I saw the answer to my question; however, I am still a little confused. You wrote: "However, if someone is terminally ill and their body is indeed shutting down then it would be permissible to discontinue their feeding tube if in fact that person dies not from the lack of sustenance but rather from their body ceasing to function." If it is permissible to discontinue their feeding tube, how do you know the person died from the illness or from no food or drink. If the person died from no food and drink, wouldn't the family member be taking their life instead of God (the illness).
Please clarify this for me.
Kim
Fr.
Kim,
With the help of doctors one can determine the state of the person as regards to when their body is shutting down and how long that will be. This is measured in regards to a few hours or days. This is not the same as someone who is terminally ill yet months away from death. Because the time left is so short the lack of food or water would not be responsible for their death. Each case is of course unique and has to be evaluated based on the specifics.
