Category Archives: treatment withdrawal

Michael Hickson: Disability Organizations Challenge Medical Futility & Surrogate Decisions

ADAPT, bioethics, ethics committee, futile care, futility, Health care decision-making, healthcare rationing, life-ending decisions, life-sustaining treatment, medical discrimination, Michael Hickson, national council on independent living, Our News & Commentary Blog, surrogate decision making, Surrogate Decisions & Guardianship, treatment withdrawal, , , ,

On July 24th, ADAPT of Texas filed a complaint with the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concerning the death of Michael Hickson, a Black Disabled man, at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center. The complaint called for . . . “. . . an investigation of St David’s … Continue reading Michael Hickson: Disability Organizations Challenge Medical Futility & Surrogate Decisions →

Will Our “SOFA Scores” Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies?

Andrew Pulrang, ari ne'eman, bioethics, COVID-19, Disability Rights New York, Hastings Center, healthcare rationing, life-ending decisions, lifeboat ethics, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, treatment withdrawal, ventilators, , ,

I first wrote on March 17th about my fear that the non-invasive ventilator I use everyday might be taken from me if I sought hospital care during this pandemic. The New York “Ventilator Allocation Guidelines”, developed in 2015 to address shortages in a pandemic, specifically state at page 42: In its consideration to protect vulnerable … Continue reading Will Our “SOFA Scores” Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies? →

Update: Minnesota Hospital Agrees to Continue Oxygen for Catie

futile care, futility, Health care decision-making, life-sustaining treatment, Minnesota, Our News & Commentary Blog, treatment withdrawal, , ,

Good news! Following intervention by attorneys, the Minnesota hospital that we previously reported had planned to stop providing oxygen to a woman with lung cancer decided to follow her wishes to continue treatment. This goes to show, as so many people with disabilities have experienced, that when there’s a power imbalance operating against you, get legal/advocate … Continue reading Update: Minnesota Hospital Agrees to Continue Oxygen for Catie →

What Can We Do When A Hospital Plans To Involuntarily Withdraw Life Support?

euthanasia, futility, Health care decision-making, life-sustaining treatment, Our News & Commentary Blog, passive euthanasia, treatment withdrawal, , ,

Friday night, I got a phone call from a woman who said that a Minnesota hospital had stated its plan for Monday at 1:00 pm to discontinue providing oxygen to her friend, Catie, a woman with lung cancer who stated that she wants to live and keep getting oxygen. NDY sometimes gets calls like this … Continue reading What Can We Do When A Hospital Plans To Involuntarily Withdraw Life Support? →

Lisa Blumberg: What Principles Should Govern Charlie Gard’s Case?

bioethics, court cases, ethics, futility, Health care decision-making, Lisa Blumberg, Our News & Commentary Blog, Peter Singer, surrogate decision making, treatment withdrawal, United Kingdom, ,

The Charlie Gard case concerns a young British child with a very rare genetic condition that has currently left him unable to move, breathe or eat on his own. His parents wanted to take him to the United States for experimental treatment but his London doctors, believing he has suffered enough, wanted to turn off … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: What Principles Should Govern Charlie Gard’s Case? →