"Brain Death" is Life, Not Death: Neurologists and Bioethicists Unanimous at Conference

LifeSiteNews ^ | 2/26/08 | Hilary White

[wagglebee]

"Brain Death" is Life, Not Death: Neurologists, Philosophers, Neonatologists, Jurists, and Bioethicists Unanimous at Conference

By Hilary White - Rome correspondent

ROME, February 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - If a patient is able to process oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream, maintain a normal body temperature, digest food and expel waste, grow to normal adult size from the age of four to twenty, and even carry a child to term, can he or she be considered dead? Can a person who is "dead" wake up and go on later to finish a university degree? Can a corpse get out of bed, go home and go fishing? Can he get married and have children?

These are among the real-life stories of patients declared "brain dead" presented by medical experts at the "Signs of Life" conference on "brain death" criteria held near the Vatican in Rome last week. Ten speakers, who are among the world's most eminent in their fields, sounded a ringing rebuke to the continued support among medical professionals and ethicists for "brain death" as an accepted criterion for organ removal.

Dr. Paul Byrne, the conference organizer, told LifeSiteNews.com he was delighted with the success of the conference, that he hopes will bring the message that "brain death is not death" inside the walls of the Vatican where support for "brain death" criteria is still strong.

Dr. Byrne, a neonatologist and clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Toledo, compared the struggle against "brain death" criteria with another battle: "I'm sure that slavery was at one time well-accepted in the United States, and that people saw big benefits to slavery. And yes, it was difficult to go away from that but it was absolutely essential."

"Slavery was doing evil things to persons. This issue of 'brain death' was invented to get beating hearts for transplantation. And there is no way that this can go on. It must get stopped."

Participants came from all over the world to attend the Signs of Life conference, with speakers from Quebec, Alberta, Ontario, Germany, Poland, the US, Brazil and Italy. The conference hall was packed to standing-room only with physicians, clergy, students, journalists, and academics. Clergy included two senior officials of the Vatican curia: Francis Cardinal Arinze, the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sergio Cardinal Sebastiani, the President Emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. Two senior members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were also present. Conference organizers told LifeSiteNews.com that they had expected no more than a hundred to attend and were surprised but very pleased with the crowd of over 170 for the one-day event.

Conflicting voices on "brain death" criteria are still battling in the Church. In February 2005, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS) refused to publish the findings of its own conference after the speakers roundly denounced "brain death" as a cynical invention to further the monetary interests of organ transplanters. The speakers said that using "brain death" for the purpose of organ harvesting results in the death of helpless patients. The PAS convened a second conference in 2007 with different speakers who, with only two dissenting, supported "brain death" for organ transplants. Papers from the 2005 conference that opposed "brain death" were excluded without explanation to their authors.

During a Vatican-sponsored conference last November on organ transplantation, at which not a single speaker raised their voice against "brain death," Pope Benedict XVI warned in an address that "the removal of organs is allowed only in the presence of his actual death." But on the Monday following the Friday organ transplant conference, only the PAS conference report in favor of "brain death" was posted to the Vatican website and not the Pope's warning. 

Dr. Byrne said that a major function of the Signs of Life conference was "to support Pope Benedict," whose address in November, he said, had started to turn the Church against "brain death."

"It's here to demonstrate clearly that 'brain death' never was true death. What we're trying to do is come back to the truth and protect and preserve the life that comes from God.

"When there are attacks on life, then we, as physicians, defend it and that is what this conference is for."

The Signs of Life conference, sponsored privately by various pro-life organizations, including Human Life International, the Northwest Ohio Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, American Life League and the Italian organization Associazione Famiglia Domani, stood in opposition to the second PAS conference, which was titled, "The Signs of Death."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Doctor to Tell Brain Death Conference Removing Organs from "Brain Dead" Patients Tantamount to Murder
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021608.html

Pro-Life Conference on "Brain Death" Criteria Will Have Uphill Climb to Sway Entrenched Vatican Position
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021607.html

Conference may Begin to Sway Vatican Opinion Against Brain Death: Eminent Philosopher
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09022404.html

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These are among the real-life stories of patients declared "brain dead" presented by medical experts at the "Signs of Life" conference on "brain death" criteria held near the Vatican in Rome last week. Ten speakers, who are among the world's most eminent in their fields, sounded a ringing rebuke to the continued support among medical professionals and ethicists for "brain death" as an accepted criterion for organ removal.

Now we need to see if the medical community pays any attention.

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[MetaThought]

Perhaps it’s time to take “Organ Donor” off my driver’s license.

[wagglebee]

I took it off a long time ago; I have no objection to my organs being used, but it will be my family who decides, NOT the doctors.

[syriacus]

Interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[autumnraine]

My cousin was in a coma for six months. She required a feeding tube obviously, but could breath on her own. My very religious aunt and uncle refused to allow her to be removed from the feeding tube and thank God she was single so no Terri Schiavo issue. She woke up one day and commented she could sleep and wake, and was grateful when the cleaning staff would turn on the TV because it was a relief from the silence in the room while ‘awake’.

[Heart of Georgia]

Thank you for posting that. My 17-year-old nephew was in a coma and never came out of it. When he was younger, I had taken him to church with me.

Well, I talked with him many times over those days of his coma. On my first visit to the hospital, I bent over to his ear to make sure he knew I was talking to him, and I told him I had come to pray with him.

When I said that, the machines started going crazy and I was told that he could hear me. I then asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. I didn’t expect any response and was completely surprised when his hand moved up over his heart very forcefully, and he had tears streaming down his face. Although he never opened his eyes, I’m sure he prayed with me.

[metmom]

This issue of 'brain death' was invented to get beating hearts for transplantation. And there is no way that this can go on. It must get stopped."

Now we need to see if the medical community pays any attention.

Not likely. Not enough money in it.

[GWMcClintock]

What an AWESOME story! Isn’t it great when God chooses to use you for something like that!

[Heart of Georgia]

Yes - to His Glory!

My nephew lived in NC, so I couldn’t go see him right away. My first prayer was that he would live, of course. But I soon began praying that I would make it there in time to pray with him. I prayed that the Lord would prepare his heart and that he would be able to hear me.

In the meantime, there were daily prayer services being conducted at a tiny Baptist church in the area. (Apparently my younger nephews had attended Sunday School there for a while). When he passed away, the pastor and congregation offered a burial plot in the church cemetery, and he was asked to conduct the services.

After the funeral, I stopped by the pastor’s office to introduce myself and give an offering, and try to express my gratitude to him and the congregation for all they had done for my family. Anyway, I told him about praying that I would get there in time, then about praying with my nephew and the way he had responded.

Well, this pastor’s face just lit up! Then he told me that he and his church did not know my nephew and they were unsure about his salvation, so they held these prayer services, praying that the Lord would send someone who could get through.

I’m always amazed when I think about how it all happened! My nephew was murdered, and everyone who prayed on his behalf became witnesses of the way the Lord works, even in the midst of a tragedy like that. The Lord is good all the time!

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