Posted on 02/14/2008 5:27:08 AM PST by wagglebee
A Winnipeg case currently winding its way to its grim conclusion pits the children of Samuel Golubchuk against doctors at the Salvation Army Grace General Hospital. According to the pleadings, Golubchuk's doctors informed his children that their 84-year-old father is "in the process of dying" and that they intended to hasten the process by removing his ventilation, and if that proved insufficient to kill him quickly, to also remove his feeding tube. In the event that the patient showed discomfort during these procedures, the chief of the hospital's ICU unit stated in his affidavit that he would administer morphine.
Golubchuk is an Orthodox Jew, as are his children. The latter have adamantly opposed his removal from the ventilator and feeding tube, on the grounds that Jewish law expressly forbids any action designed to shorten life, and that if their father could express his wishes, he would oppose the doctors acting to deliberately terminate his life.
In response, the director of the ICU informed Golubchuk's children that neither their father's wishes nor their own are relevant, and he would do whatever he decided was appropriate. Bill Olson, counsel for the ICU director, told the Canadian Broadcasting Company that physicians have the sole right to make decisions about treatment — even if it goes against a patient's religious beliefs — and that "there is no right to a continuation of treatment."
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
As of yesterday, Mr. Golubchuk has been given a stay of execution.
Pro-Life Ping
Judaism Ping
Canada Ping
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
FRmail to be added/removed from this pro-Israel/Judaic ping list.
FRmail to be added/removed from this pro-Israel/Judaic ping list.
when the government agrees to pay for something that you need or want, sooner or later the government will control that commodity - whether you like it or not - on cost grounds.
One very important difference between this case and the Schiavo case is that patients in Canada are basically wards of the state for all intents and purposes. Under that scenario, the hospital has no obligation to consider the wishes of the patient's family because the patient and/or his family are not paying for the medical care in question.
This is the inherent flaw of any government-run health care system. Quite frankly, the time to address this issue was long before Mr. Golubchuk entered the hospital in the first place.
Say Doc, I didn’t know the letters G-O-D followed after your name and MD...........
Paging Dr. Josef Mengele, Dr. Mengele you are needed in ICU stat.
Plan A -- remove ventilation
Plan B -- remove feeding tube
Plan C -- use morphine
Question: Does Plan D involve a gun?
I was not going to be surprised if the ‘outrageous’ twist to this story was that the man was conscious and pleading with his doctors and nurses, “Please don’t unplug that machine, I haven’t finished reading this novel yet!”
“Sorry, sir. But the health board has decided that we can’t afford to keep you alive any longer. You’re not paying into the system at this point.”
It's not a slippery slope we're on - it's a toboggan run.
My husband's eldest brother is a Canadian professor of ethics (yep, gave up the US citizenship). He went to the Netherlands a few years back to study euthanasia and end of life issues, and is on some health policy committes up there.
And funny, though my in laws believe the sun shines out of his Canadian posterior, as they are getting up there in years, it is my black-sheep husband who holds the keys to their Power of Attorney and Living Will, not the golden boy of the North.
What a disgusting turn. These cruel heartless monsters will have no idea what hit them when the day of retribution comes.
When you are old, you are going to die anyways. Does it make a difference when? Modern medical thought??
Years ago, there was an excellent TV show called “The Prisoner”, starring Patrick McGoohan.
One line that McGoohan’s character, a secret agent who wants out, has stuck with me and pretty much sums up my Conservatism: “I am not a number, I am a free man”.
In terms of hast and canadian dollars it should be:
Plan A - having a nurse remove ventilation costs nothing and should bring about the good doctor's wishes quickly without him getting his hands dirty
Plan B - gun shot to the head should be instantaneous and cost for the bullet is minimal besides housekeeping is already being paid to clean up messes
Plan C - morphine is quick, but the doctor would have to perform this himself unless he can shift any residual guilt to a nurse
Plan D - removing the feeding tube would merely leave the unwanted waste of flesh taking up a bed space for a week
/s
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.