On that point: Dying with dignity

The right to die debate flew out of control this last week in Italy with its central figure, 38-year-old Eluana Englaro, dying of a heart attack after 17 years in a vegetative state. The heart attack was preceded by the choice her parents made to take her off her feeding tube three days prior.

While Englaro’s parents were going through what most people see as one of the hardest things to do in life, saying goodbye to your child, the media was not as remorseful. The Italian media, partly doing its job in bringing the debate to life, unfortunately forgot some journalistic ethics in the heated discussion of whether or not allowing someone to die, even if it would be their choice, is ever acceptable.

According to Agence France Presse, “The divide was reflected in the Italian press, with the leftist La Repubblica hailing ‘The End of the Ordeal’ while Il Giornale, part of Silvo Berlusconi’s [the Prime Minister of Italy] media empire, headlined its coverage ‘They Killed Her.'”

Leaving aside the sensationalism for a moment, miscategorization is much of the culprit as to why the issue is so hotly contested in the first place. The right to die, or in this case the death of a family member, is far more than an “ordeal.” By claiming it as such, it strips the humanity from the situation, as if it is something that needs to be gotten through, not the loss of a daughter, which has been made an example of.

Sure, it is being very “newsy,” giving readers cold-hard facts and an emotional detachment one would applaud in media, but it goes too far in the direction of unethical treatment to a very sensitive situation. These are people we are talking about, not bank accounts or investments that have gone sour.

Let’s not forget the flip side to the harshness of “The End of the Ordeal.” Equally, if not more disturbing is the Il Giornale headline of “They Killed Her.” Again, it is miscategorization to the extreme. The right to die, sometimes called “death with dignity,” isn’t murder.

Murder is often times violent and premeditated. It’s not even close to what the Oregon Death with Dignity Act allows, which is a lethal injection prescribed by two doctors for a patient of a terminal illness with the likelihood of dying within six months. 

Allowing for someone in a catatonic state, without any hope or medical evidence, to believe that they will be able to come out of that state by stopping nutrition and life-support systems is less invasive than actively seeking a lethal dose to end suffering. Both are tough decisions to make, and both deserve a little more respect than what the papers have been coming up with lately.

What makes “They Killed Her” far more unethical than its counterpart is the fear appeal. It grabs the reader’s attention at its instinctual level, playing on one of the most reactionary emotions in human nature: the fear of death. 

Also, the fact that Il Gionarle is in the grasp of a politician with a very narrow view on the situation, makes it impossible for the paper to have neutrality on political issues.

Again, according to the Agence France-Presse, “Berlusconi’s centre-right government, backed by the Vatican, launched an 11th hour attempt to keep her alive. He said that stopping the supply of sustenance to Miss Englaro was tantamount to the ‘killing of a human being who is still alive.'” 

One doesn’t need a degree in rocket science to see that the Italian media within the purview of Berlusconi is going to be very tilted in its approach to policy and implication on this issue.

Partly due to Berlusconi’s influence—and the influence of the Vatican, which supports Berlusconi—and outrage, “the government embarked on a race-against-time effort to pass legislation which would prohibit food and water from being suspended for patients who depend on them. The legislation was due to be voted on Tuesday.”

Sometimes it is amazing what the press can accomplish. And sometimes it is downright shameful.