Category Archives: bioethics

DREDF Brief: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability

March 28, 2020Americans with Disabilities Act, bioethics, COVID-19, dredf, duty to die, Our News & Commentary BlogAmericans with Disabilities Act, COVID-19, Dredf, Section 504, TriageDiane Coleman

Huge admiration and gratitude to our colleagues at DREDF for issuing a document entitled Preventing Discrimination in the Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability. It’s directed to “lawmakers and providers of health care, education, transportation, housing, and other critical services.” The 2nd opening paragraph explains: In the … Continue reading DREDF Brief: The Illegality of Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability →

COVID-19 Reveals A Deadly Failure of Priorities

March 17, 2020bioethics, COVID-19, healthcare rationing, life-sustaining treatment, lifeboat ethics, medical decisionmaking, Our News & Commentary Blog, ventilatorsCOVID-19, healthcare rationing, ventilatorsDiane Coleman

With the looming and imminent threat of insufficient hospital and ICU beds, medical equipment and healthcare staff, I found myself recalling an old favorite TV show from my college years. MASH (mobile army surgical hospital) created both comedy and drama around the reality of having three operating room beds in an army tent on the … Continue reading COVID-19 Reveals A Deadly Failure of Priorities →

United Spinal Assn. Helped Fight A Futility Judgment And Won!

January 6, 2020bioethics, futile care, futility, medical discrimination, national council on disability, Our News & Commentary Blog, United Spinal Assn.futility, National Council on Disability, United Spinal AssnDiane Coleman

The hospital may not have called it a “futility judgment” when they pushed Chris Dunn to go into hospice as an alternative to spinal cord injury rehabilitation, but it’s hard to see it any other way. Here’s an extended excerpt from United Spinal Association’s New Mobility article “Refusing To Die: The Chris Dunn Story“: By … Continue reading United Spinal Assn. Helped Fight A Futility Judgment And Won! →

Federal study finds QALYs restrict access to lifesaving healthcare for people with disabilities

November 17, 2019bioethics, devaluation, healthcare rationing, medical discrimination, national council on disability, Our News & Commentary Blog, qaly, Quality Adjusted Life Yearsbioethics, National Council on Disability, QALYsDiane Coleman

The National Council on Disability issued the following release on November 6, announcing the latest report in its bioethics series. Federal study finds certain health care cost-effectiveness measures discriminate, restrict access to lifesaving treatments for people with disabilities For Immediate Release … Continue reading Federal study finds QALYs restrict access to lifesaving healthcare for people with disabilities →

Federal study finds assisted suicide laws rife with dangers to people with disabilities

October 9, 2019"death with dignity", aid in dying, assisted suicide, bioethics, dredf, national council on disability, Our News & Commentary Blogaid in dying, assisted suicide, bioethics, death with dignity, Dredf, National Council on DisabilityDiane Coleman

The National Council on Disability (NCD) has issued the second in a series of reports on Bioethics and Disability. NCD’s release on the report today focuses on “a federal examination of the country’s assisted suicide laws and their effect on people with disabilities, finding the laws’ safeguards are ineffective and oversight of abuses and mistakes … Continue reading Federal study finds assisted suicide laws rife with dangers to people with disabilities →