LEADING AUS SDB BIOETHICIST JOINS DEBATE ON FRAIL AND ELDERLY
(Dr. N. Ford sdb at Toronto Bioethics Colloquium)
TORONTO: 8th August -- Do individuals, societies, and indeed the international community, have a moral obligation to improve life for the elderly and to enhance care of the dying? Over 50 representatives of Catholic bioethics centres in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia who gathered in Toronto responded with a resounding ‘yes’. In a General Consensus Statement approved at the end of the Colloquium, participants declared that, “the world community has responsibility for the protection and promotion of human life in its biological, intellectual, social, moral, and spiritual dimensions.” This implies that bioethicists ought to address the problems of material, social, and spiritual poverty of the elderly and the dying in their local community, and also the allocation of health resources globally.
Dr. Norman Ford, the only Salesian representative at the Colloquium, renowned for his philosophico-moral contributions to the more delicate issues of life in its beginnings, has joined the intense and difficult moral reflection now being addressed on behalf of the drail and elderly. Ford is one of those who recognizes the need for further critical reflection on such issues as artificial nutrition and hydration for people deccalred irreversibly comatose, and the decision-making that must take place on behalf of patients found incapable of making decisions regarding treatment and care.
Of particular interest to the public generally, are consensus statements formulated by the Conference concerning Globalization, Catholic Social Justice, and matters arising therefrom concerning the frail and elderly and the dying. These latter statements are available on
The Toronto Bioethics Colloquium took place from July 27th - August 3rd. It's topic:
Globalization and the Culture of Life:Care of the Frail Elderly and the Dying
