How often do doctors kill patients without their consent in the Netherlands?
This post from the National Review brought back memories of the course I took with Biomedical Ethicist Art Caplan, entitled, no less than Biomedical Ethics. The course for the most part was debating who, what,where, and when do we pull the plug. An example of the game goes like this: There are six people in a cave with oxygen for only 5. If all six remain breathing, all will die, but if one dies, all will live. How does one make the decision of which one shall die? By now you are getting the drift.
Hospitals have Ethics Committees. I was on one of those committees for a time. It was an unforgettable experience. There are Committees in place for just this sort of thing.
Rationing is indeed coming. Nameless, faceless people will decide which drugs and to whom they will be given. Here are links to how this will be done :
The Obama Rationing Plan- why seniors fears are real, Read Here. And “ Principles for Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources” by Ezekiel Emanuel. Lancet Article.
Now on to the post: “Murder in the Netherlands”.
What a slippery slope.The very first step, how much easier it will get when there is a shortage of treatments. Of course I am sure the physicians are more than happy to report the number of “without consent”.
One-quarter of assisted suicides, according to this survey. But only slightly less than 2 percent of all deaths are euthanasia/assisted suicides:
In 2005, of all deaths in the Netherlands, 1.7% were the result of euthanasia and 0.1% were the result of physician-assisted suicide. These percentages were significantly lower than those in 2001, when 2.6% of all deaths resulted from euthanasia and 0.2% from assisted suicide. Of all deaths, 0.4% were the result of the ending of life without an explicit request by the patient. Continuous deep sedation was used in conjunction with possible hastening of death in 7.1% of all deaths in 2005, significantly increased from 5.6% in 2001. In 73.9% of all cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide in 2005, life was ended with the use of neuromuscular relaxants or barbiturates; opioids were used in 16.2% of cases. In 2005, 80.2% of all cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide were reported. Physicians were most likely to report their end-of-life practices if they considered them to be an act of euthanasia or assisted suicide, which was rarely true when opioids were used are without the consent of the patient, according to doctors’ report. From National Review
BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades! 