For centuries there was little debate about when a person had actually passed away. Not so today. Advances in modern medicine are truly marvelous—saving the lives of people who would have faced certain death just a few decades ago. At the same time, however, those advances have created confusion about when a life actually ends and how to treat the dying. This is especially true when it comes to declaring someone “brain dead” or in a “persistent vegetative state.” Should such persons be kept on...
Advance Directives: Patient Beware
Most people think advance health care directives and living wills are understandable, ironclad and followed to the letter. Many believe the purpose is simply to help health care providers carry out a patient’s wishes of how they want to be treated if they become unable to speak for themselves. In reality, such documents are often confusing, unclear, or outright ignored. Sadly, they can provide a vehicle that neatly fits in with the growing culture of death, which increasingly believes that...
Futile Care Vs Palliative Care
Ethics Committees and Futile Care Futile Care Theory: Bioethicists Should Stop Pretending They Are Doing Patients a Favor Sunday, May 30, 2010, 5:49 PM Wesley J. Smith Allowing people to make their own informed decisions regarding the extent of end-of-life medical treatment is crucial to respecting all people as persons. Indeed, that view was first promoted by the late great Paul Ramsey, the Christian theologian/bioethicist, in his pioneering lectures and subsequent book, The Patient as a...
Rationing Healthcare
The New York Times begins to soften us for health care rationing. "Eventually, we may well have to decide against paying for expensive treatments with only modest benefits. But given how difficult that would be for this country, it makes sense to start with the easier situations — the ones in which “no” really is the best answer for patients. " Ever heard of a QALY? Quality Adjusted Life Years is a mechanism for rationing health care. Obamacare provides a "panel" to decide on the treatments...
Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide and euthanasia is a confusing subject. However, this subject will greatly affect future generations as we continue the slide down the slippery slope. Please carefully consider all factors before making a judgment. The following are a list of questions that many have asked on this subject and answers that address these provocative questions. 1. ISN'T A DECISION TO KILL ONESELF A PRIVATE CHOICE ABOUT WHICH SOCIETY HAS NO RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED? This position assumes that suicide...
