Charlie, still a child to be protected, not "a media case"

Charlie, still a child to be protected, not "a media case". Second press release from the Director of the University Centre for Bioethics at Università Cattolica, Prof. Adriano Pessina

The painful decision of the parents of little Charlie Gard not to try the path of an experimental treatment, following a worsening of his clinical situation, deserves respect. There are limits that must be welcomed and accepted.

Faced with the promise of life that appears in every newborn, it is, on the other hand, very difficult to accept illness and mortality, so much so that every technical and scientific action seems in any case dutiful and necessary. It is also true, however, that it is necessary only as long as such action realistically leads to some even minimal benefit, or at least stabilizes the clinical conditions, otherwise the risk is that of inflicting unjustified suffering.

The debate that has ignited around "the Charlie case" has often appeared dominated by theoretical and ideological models that have not always done justice to a fact: beyond the different moral and clinical evaluations, little Charlie has always been considered with an attention and concern that is sometimes lacking in ordinary neonatal practice.

Charlie's story, which perhaps we must now leave in the warm twilight of the last and intimate hours of human relationships, can perhaps teach us how important it is not to give up thinking, confronting and dialoguing when we are faced with situations that are difficult to decipher. Loving also means knowing what is good to do, and this is not easy, but it is still possible if we avoid ideological preclusions about the intrinsic value of human life.