Monday, March 30, 2020

Euthanasia doctor developed Ontario Covid-19 triage guidelines

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition


Dr James Downar, the former chair of the physicians advisory committee for Dying with Dignity, a Canadian euthanasia lobby group, developed the "triage protocol" for doctors who may be forced to make difficult ethical treatment decisions if hospitals become overwhelmed by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Jennifer Yang reported on March 29 that the Toronto Star obtained a copy of the document that is based on rationing critical care beds and ventilators. The document establishes policies concerning life or death choices.

When contacted by Yang for comments, Downar said he was referring all media requests to Ontario Health, which was unable to respond by deadline.

According to Yang, the document states:
The system will be triggered only if local resources have been depleted and every attempt has been made to relocate patients to other facilities that still have capacity. The document acknowledges, however, that “transportation resources will become stretched in a pandemic and this will not always be possible.”
Yang describes the Triage protocol:
Under the triage protocol, patients will be assessed according to both inclusion and exclusion criteria. Those who are excluded from treatment will be patients “who are very likely to die from their critical illness, and people who are very likely to die in the near future even if they recovered from their critical illness.”

At level 1 triage, for example, doctors are advised to exclude patients who have greater than 80 per cent predicted mortality. At level 3, patients with greater than 30 per cent predicted mortality will be excluded. Under the triage protocol, long-term-care patients who meet specific criteria will also no longer be transferred to hospitals.

Patients who no longer meet the criteria for care under the triage system will be removed from life-saving interventions like ventilation or not have them offered, according to the protocol. But this does not mean these patients will stop receiving medical treatment or care. They will also receive “the highest priority for palliative care.”
Decisions as to who will receive treatment and who will not receive treatment are difficult, but the protocol is illegal. In Ontario court decisions have determined that decisions to provide or to stop treatment require the consent of the patient or the patients healthcare advocate. Therefore to remove a patient from life-saving intervention, even with good intention, cannot be done without consent.

Yang then states that patients who are withheld or withdrawn from treatment will receive palliative care. She states:
Patients who no longer meet the criteria for care under the triage system will be removed from life-saving interventions like ventilation or not have them offered, according to the protocol. But this does not mean these patients will stop receiving medical treatment or care. They will also receive “the highest priority for palliative care.”
Yang then concludes the article by stating that the protocol outlines three guiding principles for the triage protocol:
the first being “utility,” meaning physicians should allocate resources to patients who stand to benefit the most. 
The second is “proportionality” — in other words, the number of patients who will be negatively affected by this last-resort triage system should not exceed the number of people who stand to benefit. 
The third principle is fairness, meaning only clinical information should be used to decide which patients are treated over others. “Priority should not be given to anyone on the basis of socioeconomic privilege, or political rank.”
It is sad that the rules for withdrawing treatment are being developed from a utilitarian point of view and without considering the legal ramifications of their decisions.

7 comments:

Kathleen1031 said...

Yes that's what you want, godless autocrats, those who believe in population control and utilitarianism to be the decider of whether or not YOU get oxygen. People have voted in godless dictators for years now, not caring one whit about the state of their belief system, and here it comes charging back at them!

Does that person believe your life is sacred and given by God?
Does that person believe you are a child of God and made in His image?
Does that person believe you have rights as a child of God and the state does not?
Does that person believe resources must be "allocated" according to their whims and diktats?

Do you or does anyone believe that money and influence does not matter?? That is the biggest laugh of all. Money MATTERS, and it will get people better treatment, more access, better drugs for intervention, and all manner of better care! The best people can do is vote in God-fearing good citizens as their representatives, and hope they remember their Christian principles and teaching. If not? They are at the whim of those for whom life is under their jurisdiction, and they will decide based on their criteria. Over 60? Maybe, Over 80? See ya. Disabled? Bye. Infirm? Nope.
So when people say morality doesn't matter, oh yes, it does, and here is a prime example of when it matters ALOT, and is going to bite lots of people on the behind.
Godless people in charge of deciding who lives and who dies.
What could go wrong?

LF said...

Well said, Kathleen1031. You hit the proverbial nail directly on the head!

Ursula said...

Very well said Kathleen!

gypsylm said...

Spot on Kathleen! I have been telling people this for a few years now because ....
IF ...one is paying attention .... the writing has been on the wall for some time! Unfortunately, we will surely lose some of the battles but WE KNOW WHO WINS THE WAR! Few believe the book of Revelation but they are quick to believe .... we all wear tinfoil hats!

gypsylm said...

It's interesting that what I call "gradual euthanasia" happens regularly on a social level. The book 1984, talks about things that are now coming to pass ....in 2017 a TV series came out "Mary Kills People" and ran for 3 or 4 years, I think. Sitcoms, cartoons etc. all had sneak previews of the life we're beginning to live to-day. The "dumbing" of Society is goose steps and Jack boots away from the life .... we USED to know. God help us all!

elizsend said...

It is important to recognize that denying anyone care or medical treatment is very different than euthanasia. Many people besides the elderly are denied critical care treatment based on economics. Many countries such as India and Africa simply cannot afford that level of treatment for most of their people.
Euthanasia is the active and deliberate ending of someone's life. As truth bearers we need to make this distinction very clear.
We oppose euthanasia.
The realities of limited healthcare treatments and who will have those limited treatments is another debate altogether.

Thomas Pratt said...

This brand of Socialism makes me sick! How easily and quickly atheists rationalize a file and evil policy! How? Quickly these kinds of policies become a slippery slope of compassion!

The fact is that murdering innocent people with or without their consent is murder! Any doctor or health care worker that violates the hyppicratic oath this way is a murderer!

They are in violation of God's law! Suicide is a violation of God's law, but I know you" moral", and compassionate Socialist know best!

Tell me something, How long before you start murdering the developmentally handicapped? How long will it be before you star murdering slow learners? How long before this progresses to people over the age of 75? Then 60 because we can't have them being a burden to society by collecting a pension!

You, loving people make me sick!