Doctors Not Responsible for Eluana Englaro’s Death

Preliminary autopsy results showed that the cause of death was lung and heart failure due to dehydration, claim the police from Udine.

Doctors did not speed up Eluana Englaro’s death, the Italian woman who has spent the last 17 years in a coma, whose case caused quite a stir in Italy, said a police source after the preliminary autopsy results arrived.

Englaro died unexpectedly on Monday whilst the Italian parliament were discussing the cabinet’s proposal to force doctors to keep her alive.

The young woman died in the Udine clinic three days after they stopped artificially giving her food and water, despite doctors’ prognoses that death will probably occur in 12 to 14 days.

Cause of death – heart and lung failure

In December, Eluana’s father gained court permission to allow her to die, and the doctors stopped artificially giving her food and water.

Those against euthanasia indirectly accused the doctors of speeding up her death with sedatives, so that the Italian parliament could not bring a law that would force them to keep feeding the girl.

However, the preliminary autopsy results showed that the cause of death was heart and lung failure due to dehydration, said the police source in Udine.