COVID-19 response in some areas amounts to 'elder abuse'

This article was published by OneNewsNow on June 30, 2020. 

Alex Schadenberg

An expert on assisted suicide is shedding light on the pandemic's impact on the elderly.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), tells OneNewsNow the one place where the elderly should fear contracting the coronavirus is in long-term care facilities.

"Recent reports are showing that 43 percent of all COVID-19 deaths were nursing home residents," he relays. "This is not just a problem in the U.S.; it's been a problem worldwide. Sweden was over 50 percent. Canada was even worse -- 81 percent of all COVID-19 deaths were long-term care residents."

Schadenberg says it is definitely not common practice to place people with a contagious disease in a facility with the elderly, but in too many cases, that is what happened. New York City is a good example of this.

"I would say that these types of situations really do amount to elder abuse, and investigations should be done," he submits. "You also should have some homicide charges when you're intentionally putting a sick person who has a disease that's easily spread, a condition that's easily spread, too, in a room with people who are healthy."

The EPC executive director fully expects lawsuits to be filed because of it.

He also points out that in states where assisted suicide is legal and a 15 day waiting period is required before a patient can attain the life-ending procedure, the pandemic has been used to try to roll back that requirement under the argument that it is an impediment to death with dignity.