http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/...y-havent-heard
Oregon is attempting to push through a bill that could have wide reaching consequences. SB 494 attempts to redefine any assistance with food or drink (even something as simple as helping someone to drink water) as "medical care" instead of simply basic assistance.
What does this mean? Any person who's disabled to the point of being unable to feed themselves would be potentially vulnerable to being deprived of food and water, even if they're awake and alert. Tube feeding already falls under that classification, as recalled from the case of Terry Schiavo (whose brother wrote the article linked above).
Quote:
As with the present effort to reclassify spoon feeding as medical care, feeding tubes were initially judged by what they provided: essential nutrition and hydration. Yet food and water (by spoon or tube) is no more a form of “artificial life support” for a mother with Alzheimer's than it is for a teenager in need of assistance with two broken arms or a family sitting down for their nightly supper.
Whatever happens with Oregon's odious SB 494, those of us who believe no one should die from a lack of food and water will need to keep speaking publicly on behalf of ethical and moral healthcare.
|
Linear Mode
