(NRO) – Vincent Lambert was catastrophically injured in an automobile accident in France in 2008. He has been diagnosed as in a persistent unconscious condition. But he apparently only requires tube feeding to maintain life — and according to European Center for Law and Justice, has regained his swallow reflex.
A family is deeply divided about whether to pull his feeding tube so he dehydrates to death. His wife and siblings want all sustenance stopped, which means he will die slowly over 14 days. His parents and half siblings want it continued.
Sound familiar? Yes, the facts and resulting bitterness are very similar to the Terri Schaivo imbroglio that tore our country apart more than a decade ago.
The French and EU courts have ruled that the feeding tube can be pulled. But the Committee on the Rights the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations has intervened, and demanded that the dehydration be delayed pending its further study. CONTINUE