Euthanasia And Feeding Tubes

[MissyP89]

Just a quick question:

I've heard that a local Catholic nursing home requires feeding tubes for patients who begin to refuse food.

They've said that they must do everything possible to keep the patient alive, even if the family or the patient request no feeding tube.

Does Church teaching require feeding tubes, even if a person doesn't want that? It just doesn't seem right to me.

I know the Church says extreme measures aren't necessary as long as the patient is kept comfortable. What does this mean in practice?

Thanks very much.

[CatherineM]

Food is not deemed to be an extraordinary measure. Food, hydration and oxygen are basic requirements for life. There might be some very individual extreme reason to not put a feeding tube in, but those decisions should be made on a case to case basis in consultation with a chaplain or spiritual director. Some hospitals even have bioethics counselors.

I'd be more concerned with a nursing home that refused to put in feeding tubes rather than one that used them across the board.

[phatcatholic]

While it is true, as CatherineM said, that food is not considered an extraorindary measure for the care of the sick or the dying, it is also true that you cannot force someone to eat who does not want to eat, [i]especially[/i] by inserting a feeding tube when it is not medically necessary. It would be more in keeping with the dignity of these nursing home patients to try and convince them to eat on their own. The only time it would be moral to insert a feeding tube against a person's wishes would be:

1. when that person is no longer mentally competent to make such a decision (for example, because of alzheimer's) and so the decision is made by the spouse or legal guardian, AND
2. the person does not have anything in his "Living Will" or "Advanced Directive" that would prohibit such a measure.