State prosecutors in Italy lodged an appeal on Thursday against a court ruling authorizing a man to remove the feeding tube which has kept his comatose daughter alive for 16 years.The ruling by a Milan court earlier this month, a first in Italy, was condemned by the Vatican and Catholic politicians, mainly on the centre right, as justifying euthanasia.
Eluana Englaro, 37, has been in a vegetative state and receiving food and water artificially at a hospital in the northern Italian town of Lecco since a 1992 car crash. Her father, Beppino Englaro, has been seeking an end to the life support for nearly 10 years.
Since the ruling on July 9, he has been trying to find a hospice willing to permit the removal of the feeding tube. Euthanasia is illegal in Italy.
State prosecutors said they asked Italy's top court to suspend the ruling until their case is heard.
Italy's lower house of parliament had earlier on Thursday approved a resolution saying the Milan judges had no right to authorize the removal of the feeding tube and it was up to lawmakers to legislate on bioethical matters.
A vote on the same resolution will be held in the Senate on Friday. If it is approved, as expected, the Constitutional Court will be asked to rule on whether the Milan court has overstepped its boundaries.
Explaining the decision, the Milan judges said it was proven Englaro's coma was irreversible and, before the accident, she said she would rather die than be kept alive artificially.
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