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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19570364
I find this shocking on so many levels.
That a hospital can place a DNR on a patient without discussing it with them or their family.
That the DNR can be purely on the grounds of disability.
That the DNR can be placed on a patient with little or no knowledge of that person’s quality of life.But also…
How can someone like Tony Nickelson, Diane Petty and all the others like them, people who were profoundly disabled yet mentally capable and felt their quality of life was untenable, be refused the right to die yet doctors can decide to impose a DNR on someone who seems to be content with their quality of life simply because of their disabilities?
the reason is purely and simply….money.
I believe that hospitals have a little list, and it prioritises who is to live and who is to die. The more economically active and the younger you are, the higher your priority.
Downs Syndrome people do not come high, as is seen in Jen’s link.
We”ll be getting to the Dachau policy soon of enforced euthanasia, but it won’t be for Dachau reasons of deliberate genocide..
the basic cause will be…money
But if that were the case then the Tony Nickelsons and Diane Pettys of this world wouldn’t have to fight for the right to die.
A famous man once said, “you can’t serve God and Mammon”.
If you define God in the broad sense as goodness, love and wisdom, then it does seem that the worship of money (as opposed to the usefulness of money) is incompatible. Especially when its main icons are arbitrary, politically determined margins or budget figures.
But not enough people vote for goodness, love and wisdom over balance sheets these days, so what are the chances that the Gadarene saunter towards destruction will ever be halted?
The Olympics and Paralympics show what we can achieve materially, symbolically, socially and spiritually when it is decided that a worthwhile goal shall be reached and not allowed to fail because of budgetary limits.
I wonder if the politicians who enabled that will be able to facilitate the same kind of vision in our more everyday concerns.
@jen_jen wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19570364
I find this shocking on so many levels.
That a hospital can place a DNR on a patient without discussing it with them or their family.
That the DNR can be purely on the grounds of disability.
That the DNR can be placed on a patient with little or no knowledge of that person’s quality of life.But also…
How can someone like Tony Nickelson, Diane Petty and all the others like them, people who were profoundly disabled yet mentally capable and felt their quality of life was untenable, be refused the right to die yet doctors can decide to impose a DNR on someone who seems to be content with their quality of life simply because of their disabilities?
I too found this very disturbing. DNR should always be discussed – either with the individual concerned or with their family if they are incapable of making the decision. Surely it should only be used in exceptional circumstances?
@jen_jen wrote:
But if that were the case then the Tony Nickelsons and Diane Pettys of this world wouldn’t have to fight for the right to die.
Jen, I think the right-to-die goes against the offical Church’s teachings on the sanctity of life.
I don’t think many people agree wiht the doctrine, and my guess is that not many Christians agree with teh doctrine either. But it’s hard to shift established custom int ehis country.
However, established custom and prejudice combine to say that Downs Syndrome people are second-class people – something many parents of such people have had to fight against (The Death if Joe Egg is a play whihc should be seen by all).
It’s good this case highlights that monstrous prejudice.
as far as i know relatives should have been asked if there is no family then IMCA Should be involced oh imca is independent mental capacity advocate.
thats how we deal with it at workon the other side of the coin………my friend went to visit her sister who is in a hospice and is coming to the end of a long illness, only to find her sister being resuscitated when there is a DNR on her hospital notes…….the hospice said they didn’t have those notes and didn’t know………very distressing for my friend.
@sceptical guy wrote:
@jen_jen wrote:
But if that were the case then the Tony Nickelsons and Diane Pettys of this world wouldn’t have to fight for the right to die.
Jen, I think the right-to-die goes against the offical Church’s teachings on the sanctity of life.
I don’t think many people agree wiht the doctrine, and my guess is that not many Christians agree with teh doctrine either. But it’s hard to shift established custom int ehis country.
However, established custom and prejudice combine to say that Downs Syndrome people are second-class people – something many parents of such people have had to fight against (The Death if Joe Egg is a play whihc should be seen by all).
It’s good this case highlights that monstrous prejudice.
I dont know what religion tony nickelson or diane petty was but what the hell has the church got to do with this?
However I am sure that people of all religions get sick and therefore the church should stay out of it unless they want to admit they have no problem letting people suffer.
If your dog was in pain you’d do everything in your power to help him so when did humans come second to animals? And if were all equal then the choice for DNR should be left to those in pain if in sound mind if not then do what LucyLeeds said.
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