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ENGLAND

Battle over conjoined twins
After court fight, they may not be separated after all

The battle over conjoined twin infants, who doctors wanted to separate while their parents objected because one would die, reached an impasse after British courts ruled the twins should be separated.

The Court of Appeals has ruled that conjoined twins, Jodie and Mary, should be surgically separated even though the operation means that Mary, the weaker twin will die. The panel of three judges was unanimous, and the ruling was made after the court heard experts testify that if the two were to remain joined, they would both certainly die—possibly within months.

The parents, Catholics from the Mediterranean island of Gozo, near Malta, believe it is God’s will that both should die. Their solicitor said that they had undertaken not to try to remove the twins from St. Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, where they were born in August.

Jodie and Mary are joined at their lower abdomens, with their heads at the opposite ends of their merged bodies and their legs emerging at right angles from each side. Jodie has a developed heart, lungs, and liver—Mary does not, and is said by doctors to only have a “primitive” brain.

The High Court had already ruled that the operation should go ahead, but the Official Solicitor, who represents the children, appealed on behalf of the parents.

Following the decision, Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster said he was “particularly concerned that a precedent might be set in English law that could allow an innocent person to be killed, or lethally assaulted, even to prolong the life of another.” He added, “If such a precedent has indeed been set, I would have profound misgivings about the Court’s decision.”

In late September, the lawyer for the unidentified Catholic parents, John Kitchingman, said that they were unable to continue their legal battle and had decided against making an appeal to the House of Lords. “They feel that they have done the best they can for both daughters and are unable to take this any further,” he said in a statement.

Archbishop Murphy-O’Connor responded to their decision: “I can understand that the parents of Mary and Jodie feel unable to continue what has become an arduous and protracted legal process, and one which they did not initiate.”

The case took an unexpected turn in early October when doctors said they may abandon plans to separate the twins. It was revealed in press reports that three previous operations on conjoined twins at St. Mary’s have been unsuccessful resulting in none of the twins surviving and that doctors are now reconsidering their position.

Josephine Quintavalle of the Pro-Life Alliance said she was shocked that the hospital’s record was not revealed during the Court of Appeal hearing. “The emphasis of the appeal was on the happy ending for Jodie,” she said. “If this had been known, it might have been very different. There is no sense of victory with this case. Whatever happens, the ruling will go down in legal history.”

“Dying with dignity”
Vegetative patients to have feeding tubes removed

Doctors have been given the go-ahead by the High Court to stop feeding two unnamed female patients trapped in what is misleadingly termed a “persistent vegetative state” (PVS).

It had been thought the new Human Rights Act, which came into effect in early October, might have an impact on the precedent set in 1993 when doctors were allowed to stop feeding Tony Bland, a young victim of the Hillsborough football stadium disaster.

But High Court family division judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss ruled that, even taking the new act into consideration, it was still in the best interests of the women that artificial feeding and hydration stop.

The judge said all those treating the women would not be breaking the law if they stopped active treatment to keep the women alive, although they should still make sure they “died with dignity.” She said that both women, identified only as Ms. H, 36, and Mrs. M, 49, lacked the capacity to make decisions as to their future medical treatment. In both cases, relatives wanted the women’s lives to be ended.

The decision outraged pro-life groups who are opposed to withdrawal of feeding from PVS patients. Phyllis Bowman, campaign director of Right To Life, told the BBC, “We find it astounding—we can’t see how it’s a basic human right to be starved and dehydrated to death.”

She said the group would be taking legal advice with a view to taking a similar case to the European Court in Strasbourg in the future.

Apology to victims
Archbishop addresses sex abuse

Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster has apologized to victims of clergy child abuse and for the Church’s response to the problem.

“I’m very sorry about mistakes that were made in the past,” he told the BBC’s Today program. “I apologize very sincerely from my heart for any suffering that has been caused by child abuse by a priest or religious or Church worker.”

The archbishop was speaking in advance of the official launch of new measures to deal with priests who abuse children in England and Wales. He said he had launched the plan “to make sure that mistakes that were made in the past will never be repeated in the future.”

Earlier this year, Archbishop Murphy-O’Connor faced calls to resign when it emerged that he had been responsible for allowing Father Michael Hill to continue working as a chaplain despite warnings he would re-offend. The archbishop reiterated his earlier statement that the Church’s protection of children had been “inadequate” and concluded that “we have nothing to cover up regarding allegations of child abuse.” Archbishop Murphy-O’Connor later formally launched a review body at a press conference at Archbishop’s House.

Under the chairmanship of Catholic Peer Lord Michael Nolan, the review body will “examine and review arrangements made for child protection and the prevention of abuse within the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and make recommendations.”

Anti-begging campaign
Churches condemn government plan

Church leaders in Britain have condemned a government plan to prevent begging. Details of the new pre-Christmas advertising campaign were announced in October. It urges people to give their money to charity, do voluntary work for homeless organizations, or provide beggars with blankets rather than cash that could buy drugs or drink. But the overriding message is not to give to people begging on the streets.

A government spokesman said, “We want to make sure that people who receive help are genuinely homeless, but many people begging on the streets are really trying to feed a drug habit.”

However, Britain’s Anglican and Catholic bishops have united to condemn the campaign. Anglican Bishop John Gladwin of Guildford, chairman of the Church of England’s national housing coalition, told the Daily Telegraph it oversimplified the problems of homeless people. “The answer to homelessness is neither in encouraging or discouraging giving on the street,” he said. “It is in addressing the personal, social, and economic issues which lie behind each person’s story.”

Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue of Westminster, chairman of the bishops’ committee for migrants and asylum seekers, said, “What Bishop Gladwin has said is very much my line as well.”

He continued, “It is for individuals to make a choice when confronted with beggars. Throwing away money can be an easy way of shaking people off, but I spend time with beggars when they come to my church. A few astute questions will establish the facts of their case. After 30 years of opening centers and night shelters, I don’t think there is any easy answer to this.”

The Rev. Inderjit Bhogal, president of the Methodist Conference, said the public should be encouraged to befriend the poor.