Medicine Is the Site Of The Slippery Slope

[Annie]

Certainly some will applaud, not me:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...att25.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/02/25/ixhome.html

Judge rules that doctors must let ill baby die
By Andrew Davies
(Filed: 25/02/2006)

The parents of Charlotte Wyatt have been told that doctors are to be allowed to let their profoundly ill baby daughter die if they feel it is in her best interests.

A High Court judge yesterday lifted a previous ruling that she should always be resuscitated, on the grounds that the two-year-old was now on a "downward rather than an upward trend".

Mr Justice Hedley heard an emergency application from doctors treating her that she had developed an aggressive chest infection and was unlikely to survive any moves to keep her alive.

"Medical evidence speaks with one voice, that ventilation simply will not achieve the end for which no doubt the parents would wish," he said.

Charlotte's condition was said to be "deteriorating" last night. Her mother, Debbie, 24, from Portsmouth, still believes that if her daughter were ventilated she would recover.

But Mr Justice Hedley said there had been a "very significant deterioration in Charlotte's condition".

It is the fifth time he has had to make a ruling about Charlotte's treatment.

Doctors at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, had previously argued that her life was so intolerable that if her condition worsened they should be allowed to withhold treatment.

Charlotte suffers from severe lung, brain and kidney damage.

But her condition improved so much that last October the judge removed a ruling allowing doctors to let her die.

The parents' website is here:

http://charlottewyatt.blogspot.com/

 

[nosarcasm]

that is always a tough situation to judge from the outside. In the end on can only hope that is what the child would want. In general I support the idea
of the families making the call and not judges or doctors.

 

[Hobbit]

that is always a tough situation to judge from the outside. In the end on can only hope that is what the child would want. In general I support the idea
of the families making the call and not judges or doctors.

And I support letting everyone being allowed to live. Stephen Hawking is in pretty bad shape, but he'd rather be alive. I know plenty of people who have battled illness and disability all their lives, and not one would rather have been aborted.

 

[nosarcasm]

Sure but Hawking can tell us he wants to live. There are people that
are in serious pain that want to die. My uncle had cancer allover, even
with painblockers he was miserable. Things got worse for him by the day.
You sit there on the outside and its bad. He took his own life, but if he
would have been fallen in a coma I d cut his life support because I know
he wanted to die. Its an individual thing. Most utmost importance should
be given to the perceived interest of the person in question.

In the case of kids I think the parents have to make the call. Maybe some
will abuse that call but I dont know anyone better to make it.

 

[Bullypulpit]

There is a notion within the healthcar field of "futility of care". Hospital ethics panels around the country take this into account whenever they are making a decision to take an individual off of life support.

Will continued care improve the life of the individual? Or, by all general expectations, will further treatment only lead to further deterioration of the individuals condition?

It is an emotional and wrenching decision for families to make, but as medical technologies emerge that can sustain people until their bodies can simply no longer tolerate the interventions, it is one which more and more people will be faced with. Unfortunately, we live in a society conditioned by episodes of "E.R." where all medical problems can be resolved in an hour. These unrealistic expectations often stand in the way of making rational decisions regarding regarding withdrawl of extraordinary measures.

There can also be other motives such as the disgraecful political grandstanding in the Terry Schiavo case. There was also a case, here in Ohio, involving parents who were eventually tried and convicted on homicide charges when life support was removed from their baby daughter.

Until we are actually willing to accept death as a natural part of life, and that all lives cannot be saved, no matter what advances we see in medicine, we will continue to see such cases arise.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Sure but Hawking can tell us he wants to live. There are people that
are in serious pain that want to die. My uncle had cancer allover, even
with painblockers he was miserable. Things got worse for him by the day.
You sit there on the outside and its bad. He took his own life, but if he
would have been fallen in a coma I d cut his life support because I know
he wanted to die. Its an individual thing. Most utmost importance should
be given to the perceived interest of the person in question.

In the case of kids I think the parents have to make the call. Maybe some
will abuse that call but I dont know anyone better to make it.

Spot on.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

There is a notion within the healthcar field of "futility of care". Hospital ethics panels around the country take this into account whenever they are making a decision to take an individual off of life support.

Will continued care improve the life of the individual? Or, by all general expectations, will further treatment only lead to further deterioration of the individuals condition?

It is an emotional and wrenching decision for families to make, but as medical technologies emerge that can sustain people until their bodies can simply no longer tolerate the interventions, it is one which more and more people will be faced with. Unfortunately, we live in a society conditioned by episodes of "E.R." where all medical problems can be resolved in an hour. These unrealistic expectations often stand in the way of making rational decisions regarding regarding withdrawl of extraordinary measures.

There can also be other motives such as the disgraecful political grandstanding in the Terry Schiavo case. There was also a case, here in Ohio, involving parents who were eventually tried and convicted on homicide charges when life support was removed from their baby daughter.

Until we are actually willing to accept death as a natural part of life, and that all lives cannot be saved, no matter what advances we see in medicine, we will continue to see such cases arise.

Yeah. Plus hope is too expensive in a socialized system. Right? Death with dignity = the rational decision. Your propaganda's dope, bully, but lies are always still lies.

 

[Hobbit]

Doesn't anyone have any fight left in them? This isn't some 70 year old cancer patient who's lived a full life and is ready to go ahead and die. This is a 2 year old who has barely had a chance at life. If she lives through this, she won't even remember it by the time she's my age. Also, since she's 2, she'll likely make a full recovery. The fat lady hasn't even cleared her throat yet and these doomsayers are ready to just stick a fork in this precious, little girl.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Yeah. Plus hope is too expensive in a socialized system. Right? Death with dignity = the rational decision. Your propaganda's dope, bully, but lies are always still lies.

There's always hope. But when hopes are based upon unrealistic expectations, it leads to nothing but suffering.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Doesn't anyone have any fight left in them? This isn't some 70 year old cancer patient who's lived a full life and is ready to go ahead and die. This is a 2 year old who has barely had a chance at life. If she lives through this, she won't even remember it by the time she's my age. Also, since she's 2, she'll likely make a full recovery. The fat lady hasn't even cleared her throat yet and these doomsayers are ready to just stick a fork in this precious, little girl.

She never had a chance at life to begin with. The only thing keeping her alive is medical technology, and the human body can only tolerate so much of that intervention before it finally shuts down. The fat lady has already sung...But you weren't listening.

 

[Mr. P]

Hope is eternal, medical science/technology has limits; we’re lucky that those in the medical field are compassionate and know the limits.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Hope is eternal, medical science/technology has limits; we’re lucky that those in the medical field are compassionate and know the limits.

 

[Bonnie]

Doesn't anyone have any fight left in them? This isn't some 70 year old cancer patient who's lived a full life and is ready to go ahead and die. This is a 2 year old who has barely had a chance at life. If she lives through this, she won't even remember it by the time she's my age. Also, since she's 2, she'll likely make a full recovery. The fat lady hasn't even cleared her throat yet and these doomsayers are ready to just stick a fork in this precious, little girl.

Really!!! Hobbit I am astounded that people are so ready to seek death as an option over the human instinct for survival. I guess fighters like us are becoming fewer these days.

But her condition improved so much that last October the judge removed a ruling allowing doctors to let her die.

Apparently she has some fight in her little body

 

[Hobbit]

Really!!! Hobbit I am astounded that people are so ready to seek death as an option over the human instinct for survival. I guess fighters like us are becoming fewer these days.



Apparently she has some fight in her little body

Ever see Saw? I think the serial killer had a point in that too many people now have a stronger comfort instinct than survival instinct.

On a side note, if you've seen Saw II, he's also very correct that one who has stared death in the face savors every breath.