Posted on 03/01/2009 12:21:37 PM PST by greatdefender
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in Washington state.
But even though the "Death with Dignity" law takes effect Thursday, people who might seek the life-ending prescriptions could find their doctors conflicted or not willing to write them.
Many doctors are hesitant to talk publicly about where they stand on the issue, said Dr. Tom Preston, a retired cardiologist and board member of Compassion & Choices, the group that campaigned for and supports the law.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I’m not quite so sure about what’s so “dignified” about suicide, but I guess this euphemysm is the first step in how to deal with the tens of millions of baby boomers who will be entering their golden years in the coming decades.
Socialism and its customary shortages has enough problems taking care of the worker bees- people who have outlived their usefulness become a real burden on the state.
Ever consider that Terry Schaivo was starved to death precisely because actual euthanasia is illegal?
The State of Washington is a disgrace. (From Libertina, citizen of WA)
Are you suggesting that Terri's death WAS NOT a form of euthanasia? I thought that dehydration was "euphoric" and "beautiful".
Are you suggesting that Terri wanted to be euthanized?
Boy, talk about twisting the facts to promote the culture of death. You are sad.
Terry Schiavo was bump off because she did not have a WILL .
She was very much alive until her Nurse husband moved her from a Rehab facility to a Hospice and cut off her care which left her a vegatable .
Her right to starved to death was based on testimony from her husband , brother in law, and sister inlaw who all recalled she made a comment to that effect while watching a TV movie about Karen Ann Quinlin.
Oddly enough , Terry husband had just been awarded a million dollar malpractice settlement a few months before this request to fullfill her wishes to be starved to death !
So Move on moron.
I don’t see where the doctor or anyone else is forced to participate. Though that could be a later development, it’s not the case currently. Focus on changing peoples’ hearts and minds in the marketplace on ideas, not on government bans.
No, first you have to have the Medicare case worker review the request at the medicare FI and review the medical records before your benefits get returned !
That can take a little time before they will okay and pay you back .
And this was done only AFTER Terri had received a very large malpractice settlement which was specifically designated for her rehabilitation. It was Terri's own money that was used to kill her.
Her right to starved to death was based on testimony from her husband , brother in law, and sister inlaw who all recalled she made a comment to that effect while watching a TV movie about Karen Ann Quinlin.
And if if this was true, Karen Ann Quinlan's feeding tube was NEVER removed. In fact her parents specifically stated that to deny her food and water would be murder.
We learned that during his 7 months with hospice. The nurse was great while he was at home, consulting with his previous primary physician often.
But, once he got to the center it was not pretty. THe 2nd night when he fell unconsciounse, I told them I was considering having him moved to the hospital for treatment of his pneumonia. One of the nurses contacted another family member in the middle of the night (woke them up at 3:00 AM), upsetting her and trying to start trouble to divide us. That is when I called a meeting the next day with head honcho there and told them very clearly that I would not allow them use the ‘divide and conquor’ approach during our time of distress. I let them know I had their number and I found the those tactics disturbing. My father stayed and died there that week. But, I still feel like it is a place to send some one terminally ill to have them die, even before their time.
sorry: unconsciounce (sp above)
Also: 7 months hospice: home, 1 week at the center
Reminds me of the Sam Kinison Necrophilia stand up routine.
Dead man laying on a slab: "Well, life was tough. Death was hard, but at least now I am at peace and can meet God.....oh, wait a minute.....what is this!!!!! Some guy is raping me!!!!! OH, OH, OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!
What the F&*^!!!!"
I heard about that, extremely sick.
Also in the news: Final Exit organization busted
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.suicide27feb27,0,5810981.story
“A Johns Hopkins-affiliated physician and a legislative aide to a Maryland lawmaker belonged to a wide network of volunteers who helped dying people commit suicide, according to Georgia authorities.
Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert, 81, and Nicholas Alec Sheridan, 60, were arrested in Baltimore on Wednesday in an eight-state probe of a Marietta, Ga.-based assisted suicide organization known as the Final Exit Network. Egbert, an anesthesiologist, is an unpaid visiting assistant professor at Hopkins but does not treat patients there. Sheridan, the former owner of a catering company, is a part-time aide in the General Assembly....”
The hospice played a huge role in pulling the plug pulled before her patient care costs wiped out the settlement all because she did not qualify for Medicare hospice due to her real diagnosis. She was not terminal !
They supplied the lawyer/former board chair and the judge’s wife a fund raiser for them too.
It was a sick sick sick situation.
That’s what I was wondering.
What will they call it when you want to retire and live off your Social Security?
They’ll call it something like the Patriotic Purge.
As long as we keep putting other factors in front of the patient's own wishes, we risk that. Respecting the patient's wishes as our goal doesn't have a slippery slope.
This is about assisted suicide. Don’t conflate it with euthanasia.
On the flip side, many people hang on as long as they can before wanting to escape...and then find they are no longer able to do it without assistance.
So unless a person can get assistance, the only answer is to make a premature exit to be sure. And that’s what’s happening more now.
They are very similar, don’t you think?
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