…hysician-assisted suicide because it is inconsistent with physicians’ “self-image” as healers. However, the rejection of the so-called Death with Dignity Act by the majority of physicians is based on much broader medical considerations. Twenty to 40 percent of medical diagnoses prove wrong when confronted with the ultimate criterion of truth, the autopsy. This means that the license to cause deaths on the grounds of medical diagnoses can lead to t…
…th the values underlying (s. 7) and (s. 15);3. decisions allowing physician-assisted suicide of persons with disabilities is based on and fosters stereotypical thinking that is inherently discriminatory, and deepens the disadvantages and inequalities suffered by people with disabilities;4. financial and social conditions place increased stress on those who provide support to the disabled, creating greater potential for abuse. The autonomy of vulne…
…ween ableist stereotypes, eugenic ideas and film music in the 1950s. In an online exchange on Facebook, she said she was bothered by the sentence above, stressing that patients “were awake and conscious” when the drugs were allegedly administered: “the patients were awake and conscious moments before the drugs were administered.” So, it would have been ok to kill them if they were unconscious…? That’s a good question, as is the one she asks about…
…ppearances are are often deceiving, and medical issues may be complex; a 10-minute visit often accomplishes little. 3. The movements to promote physician assisted suicide and Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) carry specific dangers for people with severe and progressive disabilities. Both movements feed off of the fears held by physicians and the public about losing independence and control over one’s life. Making it easier f…
…is being too broadly applied. Rather than give people more control over end-of-life medical care, they say, it could mean interpreting “disabled” to mean “on death’s door”. “Our concern is that it’s being used with non-terminal people,” says John Kelly, a 54-year-old quadriplegic who lives in Boston. He was taken aback when a nurse showed up with Massachusetts’ version of the form, called a MOLST. “I joke that I’ve got my pink MOLST on the fridge,…
