Schiavo neurologist views Alzheimer patients as physician-assisted "suicides"

CFP ^ | April 4, 2005 | Judi McLeod

[MikeEdwards]

Years before he categorized Terri Schindler Schiavo in the persistent vegetative state, which led to her death by dehydration, neurologist Dr. Ronald Cranford was building the case for removing feeding tubes from society’s vulnerable.

"…The United States has thousands or tens of thousands of patients in vegetative states; nobody knows for sure exactly how many," Cranford wrote in a 1997 Minneapolis Star Tribune opinion piece titled: When a feeding tube borders on the barbaric. (WorldNetDaily. Com, March 23, 2005). "But before long, this country will have several million patients with Alzheimer’s dementia. The challenges and costs of maintaining vegetative state patients will pale in comparison to the problems presented by Alzheimer’s disease.

"The answer, he suggested, was physician-assisted suicide."

Cranford blames the medical profession for society’s rush toward physician-assisted suicide…"our archaic responses to pain and suffering; our failure to accept death as a reality and an inevitable outcome of life; our inability to be realistic and humane in treating irreversibly ill people. All of this has shaken the public’s confidence in the medical profession."

Could it be no-food-no-water, white-coated doctors, propelled by right-to-die activism, that is shaking the public’s confidence in today’s medical profession?

Alleged to have participated in states like California without courtesy of a legal license, Cranfeld openly applauds European values that embrace euthanasia. Countries like Belgium, where experts believe that 10 percent of all deaths now result from euthanasia or by drugs administered by doctors to hasten death. . . . .

[mtbopfuyn]

Sure would solve the rising costs of health care and Social Security.



/s

[goldstategop]

Liberals would love it. More money for their friends.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Yes, that is what is will come down to. The extreme cost of taking care of such patients will make this whole debate academic.

[ravingnutter]

Geez...I've been reporting on this on FR for a week now...think the MSM will pick up on it? NOT.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Auto Ignore: A total lack of interest in this subject on my behalf has triggered Auto Ignore. Attempts to drag me into a discussion on this subject are futile. Do not ping me concerning this thread!

[silverleaf]

Gee I wonder how Mikie Schiavo found this guy and hired him to be one of his expert witnesses on Terri's prognosis? One report has said this was the doctor who actually disconnected her feeding tube - anyone confirm this?

I believe Dr Cranford was also the expert witness who persuaded Judge Greer that feeding Terri or letting her have liquid orally would be "artificial" because she wasn't voluntarily lifting the spoon or cup or ice chips to her own dying lips......pretty disingenuous, eh?

[claudiustg]

Add the fact that many people nowadays are totally unprepared to face the diminishing capabilities of the elderly or their ultimate deaths and you have a serious problem with the popularization of euthanasia.

[TigersEye]

Glad to see you've pulled your plug. One less useless poster consuming bandwidth that real FReepers can use.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Haven't pulled the plug. I just got tired of watching people beat the crap out of each other over this. The case is tragic no matter which side you're on. I was on the side of life but both sides of this have gotten too inflamed. Take your comment to me. You don't know me but you jumped right in and insulted me. Hope you're proud.

[TigersEye]

I'm not interested in your opinion, that's all.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Coming from you, that is a compliment. Go kick your dog. You are dismissed.

[TigersEye]

Coming from someone who dismissed everyone with his initial post your opinion means nothing. Your suggestions mean nothing. Apparently your commitment to refuse to be drug into this subject means nothing. Your tube is pulled.

[gakrak]

It's just a darn shame that his parents didn't practice abortion. Amen.

[Conspiracy Guy]

You ignored the Auto Ignore so in order not to be rude I replied. I should have ignored you since you seem to be a set on being the reason I post auto ignore. I will amend my ways and ignore you forth going. Your tube is still connected but to the wrong place.

[chimera]

Could it be no-food-no-water, white-coated doctors, propelled by right-to-die activism, that is shaking the public’s confidence in today’s medical profession?

Doctors are as vulnerable to the siren song of the culture of death as judges, lawyers, or anyone, perhaps more so. Once they get a taste for killing, any consideration of ethics, the Hippocratic Oath, and the like, goes out the window, drowned by the bloodlust. It bears remembering that Kevorkian, Mengele, the infamous "Dr. Brandt" of The Fuhrer Order, and all the rest, were at one time doctors before they became killers.

[TigersEye]

Your post has been automatically ignored.
This post is not meant to indicate my opinion one way or the other. It should not be construed as a sign that I considered your post or that this is a reply to your post. This post should not be considered to be evidence that I am participating in this thread or in a conversation with you.
It is just an automatic post with no meaning or relevance to anything whatsoever.

[syriacus]

Anyone see a contradiction here?

Cranford believes that PVS or Alzheimer patients have no constitutional rights.

Cranford testified that Terri was PVS for Michael, who said he was protecting Terri's constitutional right to refuse treatment and her constitutional right to privacy.

[hocndoc]

A brand new category of human beings that are no longer "persons."

Who's next?

[MEGoody]

Ah, another pig squeals its way into the limelight.