…did not reveal the actual content of the new bill and linked only to a non-English article about it. Fortunately, a quick Google search led to an article quoting the details left out. It’s not surprising that some might want to hide this direct targeting of disabled people: Rephrasing the ‘imprecise’ The rephrasing of the bill clarified the “imprecise” definition for when euthanasia would be possible after the Constitutional Court found that the b…
…riticism about which disability rights advocates should be aware. The Pew Trusts’ Stateline reported that “Oklahoma’s ‘Life-Preserving’ Law Raises Questions for Doctors.”[2] According to the article, Elise Dunitz Brennan, a prominent health care attorney in Tulsa, said she fears doctors will now refuse to inform patients or their proxies of the true risks of some … procedures for fear of being seen as violating the law. These criticisms are mislea…
…s who want and need it. Futile care laws and policies allow doctors to overrule the autonomous health care decision of an individual or their authorized surrogate in favor of treatment. The judgment that a health care treatment is futile may sound like it could be based on an objective scientific medical assessment, but if it were, it would probably fail to meet “medical necessity” criteria and thus not be covered by insurance. The real issue is t…
…lanned for, during disasters. Individuals with cognitive impairments may struggle with public safety instructions when disaster occurs. People who are blind, Deaf, etc. may have difficulty communicating during the emergency – especially when sign language interpretation is lacking or inadequate. All of these factors persist and they compound and increase the degree of risk in disaster situations for people with disabilities. Despite the necessary…
…ate causing fingers to contract permanently. CMT sufferers also undergo excruciating pain. “Sometimes it’s a burning neurological pain like boiling hot water is running through my nerves,” Kurt, who asked that only his first name be used. CMT is not fatal, but Kurt suffers from a rare form of the disease that causes severe respiratory problems which can make breathing feel more like suffocating. Kurt said he didn’t want to grow old with the diseas…
