Yesterday, Wesley Smith also published an article about the same case. I am reprinting the article by Wesley Smith to offer further insight into the radical nature of this court case.
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| Wesley Smith |
By Wesley Smith - August 8, 2013
This is how far the culture of death has come.
I reported earlier about the controversy in Canada in which a family wants a nursing home to stop spoon feeding their mother because she would not want to be kept alive with Alzheimer’s. But no one has the right to be starved. They have the right to refuse medical treatment–for example when sustenance has to be provided by tube. But “artificial nutrition and hydration” may be medical treatment under the law–I would prefer it weren’t–but spoon feeding is humane care that should never be denied.
But don’t tell that to the family. They are suing because a nursing home refuses to starve their mother to death! From the Leader-Post story:
The actions of Abbotsford nursing home staff who are spoon-feeding an 82-year-old Alzheimer’s patient — contrary to the wishes she expressed in her living will — constitute battery, a lawsuit by her daughter and husband alleges. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court against Fraser Health, the nursing home and the provincial government, is expected to be precedent-setting as it should clarify end-of-life rights of patients and the obligations of health providers.
So, if a person wrote in their advance directive that they don’t want to be kept warm, should they be denied blankets? If they said they don’t want turning so they get bed sores and die sooner, should that be done? Or is the right to be made dead now sacrosanct?
If the family wins this case, the right to refuse medical treatment will become the right to be neglected to death. And what will happen to the nursing and medical professions if they are required to deny people the basics of life until death? Can you imagine the number of people that will quit the sector?
We don’t–and shouldn’t–have a right to force health care workers to make us dead. And we sure shouldn’t be able to order others to starve us when we willingly eat. Color me utterly disgusted.
6 comments:
WOW. We are becoming non-human. The elderly should be given the best of care, always.
If the court go along with these people we have a big problem
Do you have a compassionate bone in your body? Starving someone to death is nobody's first choice but since there are those of you who oppose a compassionate end for those with a terminal, protracted, painful, lingering end they have no option.
I have no problem with working with sincere people to avoid abuses of assisted dying but your never under any circumstances position is barbaric,sadistic and cruel. What"logic" do you have to justify your position?
Once again the anti-compassion lobby reveals their hypocrisy.
In their minds, only people on respirators or dialysis have the right to assisted suicide.
Dear Tony and Winston:
Nobody actually wants to be starved to death.
If you give families the power to starve people to death, it will be a power that will be used.
Your position is barbaric sadistic and cruel.
Of course not. We'd rather have an injection and die in 30 seconds.
But anti-compassion torturers like yourself won't allow genuine compassion to enter the equation.
If I was truly barbaric, sadistic and cruel, I would try to make it illegal for all anti-choicers to access analgesia.
Why is this even being debated? I know when I had my living will, power of attorney papers done the lawyer made sure it was all within the law. You cannot request illegal activities be carried out on your behalf and expect your wishes to be honored, this is ridiculous! These "my choice" pro death death people clearly have no regard for others because allowing health care workers to starve their patients to death puts so many lives in danger.
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