Tag Archives: brain injury

Lisa Blumberg: Denying Access to Food and Water Based on Disability Status

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It’s Faustian – giving a nondisabled or slightly disabled person a chance to deny themselves access to food and water if they become significantly disabled and have resulting functional impairments. End of Life Choices New York, a leading supporter of legalized assisted suicide, has developed an “Advance Directive for Receiving Oral Feeding and Fluids in … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: Denying Access to Food and Water Based on Disability Status →

Lisa Blumberg: Brain Injured Are Denied Life Sustaining Treatment Too Early

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  A 2007 Not Dead Yet blog described “rush to judgment” cases where people who had sustained a major brain injury were denied life sustaining treatment before appropriate time had passed to determine if they could become conscious. It referred to an article co-authored by Dr. Joel Frader, now a member of the Northwestern Center … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: Brain Injured Are Denied Life Sustaining Treatment Too Early →

Neurology Guidelines Push Back Against “Rush To Judgment” In Brain Injury Cases

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On September 16, ABC News in Oakland, California reported on a hospital’s threat to remove breathing support from six-month-old Kingston Holmes. The infant needed a ventilator due to a brain injury following a cardiac arrest at home. The first thing I ask when I read a story like that is when did the cardiac arrest … Continue reading Neurology Guidelines Push Back Against “Rush To Judgment” In Brain Injury Cases →

Haleigh Poutre’s New Life and the Flawed Lessons People are Taking Away From Her Story

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Readers of this blog will hopefully remember the story of Haleigh Poutre, a child in Massachusetts who was abused and then neglected, failed and abandoned by just about every professional whose job it was to act to safeguard her welfare and safety.  She became the subject of a life and death* court battle that sanctioned … Continue reading Haleigh Poutre’s New Life and the Flawed Lessons People are Taking Away From Her Story →

Let’s Have a REAL Discussion: Bioethicists Preach, Fail to Teach on Brain Death

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By now, most readers of this blog are probably familiar with the story of Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl who underwent surgery on December 9, 2013 at Oakland Children’s Hospital.  During post-op recovery, she started bleeding.  Eventually, she went into cardiac arrest. She was then put on a ventilator. Two days later doctors made a … Continue reading Let’s Have a REAL Discussion: Bioethicists Preach, Fail to Teach on Brain Death →