The culture of death that has become so pervasive all over the world continues to be argued by governments, families, and ordinary citizens.
At the heart of the matter is the right for every human being to live – but governments are playing God while innocent people continue to die.
Another tragic case recently unfolded in France, and if you don’t think it could happen in the U.S., it already has.
Vincent Lambert died on July 11th after being hospitalized in palliative care for brain damage and physical injuries as the result of a car accident in 2008.
But it was not a natural death attributed to irreversible injuries. Lambert was denied food and water for over a week – by his own doctors – leading to a slow and painful end.
The decision to withhold all nutrition – even water – to prolong Lambert’s life followed years of legal battles between Lambert’s wife and his parents, government agencies and the courts.
Rachel Lambert, Vincent’s wife, insisted that her husband had discussed that if he were ever to be in a “vegetative state,” he would not wish for extreme measures to be taken to prolong his life.
It is the same argument that led to the death of American Terri Schiavo in 2005 after her husband fought her parents for a decade to discontinue any type of life-sustaining measures.
She was denied nutrition and died an agonizing death as her family fought bureaucracy to keep her alive.
While euthanasia is illegal in France, they do have a form of so-called “right to die” laws where a patient is able to end treatments that are deemed “useless” or only meant to prolong life by artificial means.
But like Schiavo, Lambert could not verbalize what he really wanted following his accident. In both cases, the spouse was considered to be the legal guardian and was allowed to speak for the patient in their stead.
Lambert’s mother insisted that he was “minimally conscious” and that he would respond to and understand her.
While he was being murdered by government decree, she said that he gasped for air, made sounds of distress, and cried. He would open his eyes and react when she spoke to him, and the suffering was clear.
Nine days… no food, no water, and a decision not to follow some of the typical procedures of “right to die” cases in the country.
Often, a terminal patient will be put into a form of sedation to prevent agonizing pain at the end of life. Other times, this will not be ordered so that patients can communicate in their final moments.
In Lambert’s case, the decision was made not to put him into sedation – and his family says that made the unspeakable suffering even worse.
After numerous court battles between the family members, pleas from leaders of the Roman Catholic Church – including the Pope – and even an attempt by Lambert’s mother to appeal to the United Nations, it was too late for Lambert.
The case was still being argued, all while Lambert lay dying of thirst. His own parents had to watch and were legally prevented from giving him even a sip of water.
They finally stopped pursuing any continuation of their fight after it was clear that Lambert’s starvation had already damaged his body to the point of no return.
His immediate family states that if Lambert had received at least something to make him more comfortable – as patients do in “right to die” cases – it would have been better than the slow and agonizing death he experienced while his case was caught in a legal quagmire.
Family and friends agree that it was torture and barbarism to allow a human being to die the way he did.
It is hard to believe that this was his wife’s interpretation of what Lambert would have wanted. Artificial means to prolong life should never include food and water.
Vincent Lambert could not speak, but he did react to those around him. It is shocking to think how invaluable human life becomes when in the hands of the courts and government bureaucrats.
Life begins and ends on God’s timetable and no one else’s.
We, as children of God, must stand for those who cannot stand for themselves. We must speak for those who have no voice. It is true for the innocent unborn, and it is true for the seriously ill.
Pope Francis issued a statement following Lambert’s death that read, according to LifeSite News: “Let us not build a civilization that discards persons those whose lives we no longer consider to be worthy of living: every life is valuable, always.”
Other church leaders and people all over the world called for an end to the culture of death.
But it will not end until we band together to protect all life and turn the tide back to a point where every life is valued.
It’s life or death, and this is the most important fight of all.
What do you think of the barbaric way that Vincent Lambert died when he could not speak for himself? Leave us your thoughts.