Italian high court orders feeding tube to remain News
Italian high court orders feeding tube to remain

[JURIST] The Italian Supreme Court [Corte Suprema di Cassazione; offical website in Italian] Wednesday confirmed a lower court ruling to keep tube-feeding Eluana Englaro, in a vegetative state since a 1992 car accident. The appeal was brought by Englaro's father, who believes that she would have preferred to die. The court rejected the argument because there was no specific evidence on Englaro's views of life and death. In addition, the court's opinion stated that to remove the tube required, "valuations of life and death that are rooted in concepts of an ethical or religious nature, which are extrajudicial." The ruling comes just weeks after US courts struggled with the analogous case of Terri Schiavo [JURIST news archive], who died March 31. Reuters has more. Agenzia Giornalistica Italia has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

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