Euthanasia From the Greek Means Good Death Slide 2 A Good Death?
Are some deaths better than others? Do we have a right to choose
when to end our life? What if we are not suffering from a terminal
illness? Slide 3 5 Different Types Active Euthanasia Voluntary
Euthanasia Active Non- voluntary X Passive Euthanasia Voluntary
Euthanasia Passive Non- voluntary Involuntary Euthanasia Passive
Slide 4 Active Euthanasia Something is done to the patient to
hasten Death Not legal in the United States Legal in Netherlands
and Australia Examples: drugs are administered at lethal levels.
Slide 5 Passive Euthanasia Patient is allowed to die. Only
medication help ease patients pain is administered. Examples:
Turning off respirator, refusing chemotherapy. Slide 6 Voluntary
Euthanasia Patient request treatment to be stopped. Examples:
chemotherapy or dialysis. Slide 7 Non- Voluntary Patient cannot
decide from themselves. Someone makes the decision for them.
Examples: children, comatose patients, or individuals not mentally
competent Slide 8 Involuntary Patient is refused a life sustaining
treatment. Examples: Drugs are too costly, limited supply of
organs. About 13,000 patients are on waiting list in the US. Slide
9 Heath Care Surrogate You can appoint someone, to act as your
representative in the event you are mentally incapacitated. Terri
Schiavo did not have a Heath Care Surrogate. If you do not have
one, by default it is your spouse. If you are unmarried it is your
parents, or next of kin. Slide 10 Living Will A living will is a
document that states what your wishes in the event you need life
sustaining care. Slide 11 History 400 B. C. - The earliest recorded
reference to Euthanasia comes from Hippocrates, the father of
medicine. He is quoted as saying I will give no deadly medicine to
any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel 673 England
prohibits suicide. Slide 12 History Cont. 1647 the Providence
Plantations (Rhode Island) declared that if an individual committed
suicide his/her possessions would become the property of the King
of England. 1800s Laws of Connecticut essentially states that any
person who aids another individual in committing suicide is guilty
of murder if the advisee actually goes through with suicide. Slide
13 History Cont. 1828 The earliest American statute explicitly to
outlaw assisted suicide was enacted in New York.Between 1857 and
1865, a New York commission drafted a criminal code that prohibited
aiding suicide and, specifically, furnishing another person with
any deadly weapon or poisonous drug, knowing that such person tends
to use such weapon or drug in taking his own life. 1850 The
California legislature adopted the English common law, under which
assisting suicide was a crime. Slide 14 History Cont. 1920 The book
"Permitting the Destruction of Life not Worthy of Life" was
published. In this book, authors Alfred Hoche, M.D., a professor of
psychiatry at the University of Freiburg, and Karl Binding, a
professor of law from the University of Leipzig, argued that
patients who ask for "death assistance" should, under very
carefully controlled conditions, be able to obtain it from a
physician. This book helped support involuntary euthanasia by Nazi
Germany. Slide 15 Nazi Germany 1939 In Nazi GermanyHitler ordered
widespread mercy killing of the sick and disabled. 1935 The
Euthanasia Society of England was formed to promote euthanasia.
Slide 16 History Cont. 1995 Australia's Northern Territory approved
the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. It went into effect in 1996
and was overturned by the Australian Parliament in 1997. Slide 17
Legalized in Oregon 1994 - the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was
passed, which legalized assisted suicides. Other states such as
California, Michigan, Maine, Hawaii, Arizona, and Vermont have
tried to pass similar bills. All attempts have been unsuccessful.
Slide 18 History Cont. 2002 Euthanasia is legalized in Belgium 2005
Netherlands set to give the go- ahead to child euthanasia. Slide 19
Assisted Suicide When someone provides an individual with the
information, guidance, and means to take his or her own life with
the intention that they will be used for this purpose. When a
doctor helps another person to kill themselves it is called
physician assisted suicide. Slide 20 Oregons Death with Dignity In
1994 voter in Oregon passed an Assisted Suicide law. According to
the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, An adult who is capable, is a
resident of Oregon, and has been determined by the attending
physician and consulting physician to be suffering from a terminal
disease, and who has voluntarily expressed his or her wish to die,
may make a written request for medication for the purpose of ending
his or her life in a humane and dignified manner Slide 21 A long
road to legalization In 1994, the Death With Dignity Act was
approved 51% to 49% Slide 22 Supreme Court said Up to States In
1997 Ballot Measure 51 was introduced to overturn the Death With
Dignity Act. The people of Oregon turned down the measure by a vote
of 60% to 40% Ballot Measure 51 came about due to two court cases
in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in assisted suicide was not a
Constitutional right. However, the Court instructed that the issue
would be best addressed in the "laboratory of the states." Slide 23
Who requested assisted Suicide 37 individuals used the law in 2004
(a fraction of the approximately 31,000 deaths statewide) 60
prescriptions were written by 40 different physicians Most of the
individuals were able to die at home 89% were enrolled in hospice
care Men and women were equally likely to use the law, the median
age was 64, Slide 24 Ashcroft Directive In 2001 Attorney General
John Ashcroft said assisting suicide is not a "legitimate medical
purpose" under federal drug- control law and that the Drug
Enforcement Administration could strip the prescribing rights of
any physician who authorized drugs to help someone die. Slide 25
Oregon v. Ashcroft On November 6, 2001, Attorney General John
Ashcroft issued a Directive stating that a doctor could lose his or
her federal registration to prescribe controlled substances if the
registration is used to prescribe federally controlled substances
for assisted suicide. Slide 26 Supreme Court Affirms Assisted
Suicide On November 9, 2004, the Justice Department petitioned the
U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and, on February 22, 2005, the
U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear the case (now
titled "Gonzales v. Oregon" No. 04-623) during its session that
begins in October 2005. On January 17, 2006, the Supreme Court
Ruled in Favor of Assisted Suicide in Oregon Slide 27 The
Terminally Ill and Hospice Hospice- end of life care. The goal of
Hospice is not to cure illness, but to alleviate your pain and
minimize your suffering. Slide 28 Dr. Jack Kevorkian Slide 29
Kevorkian Chronology May 28, 1928 Kevorkian is born in Pontiac,
Michigan, the son of Armenian immigrants. 1952 Graduates from
University of Michigan medical school with a specialty in
pathology. 1956 Publishes journal article, "The Fundus Oculi and
the Determination of Death," discussing his efforts to photograph
the eyes of dying patients, a practice that earned him the nickname
"Doctor Death." Slide 30 Kevorkian Chronology December 1958
Presents paper at meeting in Washington, D.C., advocating medical
experimentation on consenting convicts during executions.
Embarrassed, University of Michigan officials ask Kevorkian to
leave his residency there. Slide 31 Kevorkian Chronology 1961
Publishes article in The American Journal of Clinical Pathology
detailing his experiments on transfusing blood from cadavers to
live patients. 1970 Becomes chief pathologist at Saratoga General
Hospital in Detroit. Late 1970s Quits pathology career, travels to
California, and invests life savings in directing and producing a
feature movie based on Handel's "Messiah." With no distributor, the
movie flops. Slide 32 Kevorkian Chronology 1980s Publishes numerous
articles in the obscure German journal Medicine and Lawoutlining
his ideas on euthanasia and ethics. 1987 Advertises in Detroit
papers as a "physician consultant" for "death counseling." 1988
Kevorkian's article, "The Last Fearsome Taboo: Medical Aspects of
Planned Death," is published in Medicine and Law. In it, he
outlines his proposed system of planned deaths in suicide clinics,
including medical experimentation on patients. Slide 33 Kevorkian
Chronology 1989 Using $30 worth of scrap parts scrounged from
garage sales and hardware stores, Kevorkian builds his "suicide
machine" at the kitchen table of his Royal Oak, Michigan,
apartment. June 4, 1990 Kevorkian is present at the death of Janet
Adkins, a 54-year-old Portland, Oregon, woman with Alzheimer's
disease. Her death using the "suicide machine" occurs in
Kevorkian's 1968 Volkswagen van in Groveland Oaks Park near Holly,
Michigan. Slide 34 Kevorkians Definition of Death With Dignity
Well, let's take what people think is a dignified death. Christ was
that a dignified death? Do you think it's dignified to hang from
wood with nails through your hands and feet bleeding, hang for
three or four days slowly dying, with people jabbing spears into
your side, and people jeering you? Do you think that's dignified?
Not by a long shot. Had Christ died in my van with people around
Him who loved Him, the way it was, it would be far more dignified.
In my rusty van. - Jack Kevorkian; National Press Club - July 29,
1996 Slide 35 First 5 Assisted Suicide 1. Janet Adkins 1990 F 54
Alzheimer's Disease 2. Sherry Miller 1991 F 43 MS 3. Marjorie Wantz
1991 F 58 Abdominal and Pelvic Pain 4. Susan William 1992 F 52 MS
5. Lois F. Hawes 1992 F 52 Lung cancer Slide 36 Less than 1/2 Less
than of all of Dr. Kevorkians Assisted Suicides were of patients
that were terminally ill. Slide 37 Why suicide? 36 had expressed
fear of becoming dependent on others 34 were in chronic or cancer
pain At least 15 had been diagnosed with less than six months to
live 13 had rejected any further medical treatment At least 10 had
tried suicide before Slide 38 93 known Deaths Kevorkian assisted in
93 reported deaths, but his lawyers says there are many more where
the person wished to remain anonymous. Slide 39 60 minutes
Interview November 22, 1998 CBS's "60 Minutes" airs a videotape
showing Kevorkian giving a lethal injection to Thomas Youk, 52, who
suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. The broadcast triggers an
intense debate within medical, legal and media circles. Slide 40
Convicted in 1999 April 13, 1999 Convicted of second- degree murder
and delivery of a controlled substance in the death of Youk, a
Michigan judge sentences Kevorkian to 10-25 years in prison. Slide
41 International Laws Assisted Suicide Active Euthanasia Passive
Euthanasia Are legal in several countries including: Japan, Belgium
and the Netherlands Slide 42 Japan In 1995 a Japaneselegalized
"Active euthanasia" when four criteria are satisfied: unbearable
pain, proximate death, no other way to relieve pain; and clear
consent. Passive euthanasia, without consent, is also allowed if
relatives consent. Slide 43 Japan Surgeon Accused Japanese police
are investigating a surgeon who has killed seven patients over the
last five or six years by removing them from their respirators. The
50-year-old head of the surgery department at Imizu City Hospital,
260km northwest of Tokyo, allegedly wanted to allow his patients to
die with dignity. According to hospital authorities, he consulted
his decision with relatives first, but he never discussed the
matter with the hospital ethics committee. Four men and three women
-- all between the ages of 50 and 90 -- are said to have been
killed. Five had cancer. Slide 44 Did he have consent? The case
only came to light when the head nurse of the medical ward
overheard the doctor instructing a staff member to remove an
artificial respirator from a 78-year- old stroke patient. Hospital
staff had been cooperating in the deaths. "In the surgery ward, the
staff works in teams and no one could refuse his orders," the
director of the hospital, Hidetsugu Asanoi, told the media. "I
believe he made the decisions taking full responsibility and with
faith in his own way [of doing things]." However, a relative of the
stroke patient denied that the doctor had asked for consent. "We
had not demanded that the respirator be removed. The surgeon did
not obtain our consent," he said. Slide 45 International Laws
Belgium and The Netherlands have legalized Euthanasia In 1995, with
the passage of the "Rights of the Terminally Ill (ROTI) Act,"
Australias Northern Territory became the only jurisdiction in the
world with both legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia. The law
went into effect in July 1996. It was repealed on March 25, 1997.
Slide 46 History in Netherlands Started in 1973 became legal until
2002 The Dutch situation between 1973 and 2002 was an outgrowth of
a series of court decisions and medical association guidelines,
beginning with a 1973 District Court case in which Geertruida
Postma, a Dutch physician, was convicted of the crime of euthanasia
after she ended the life of her seriously ill mother. Slide 47
Netherlands, continued. The conditions under which the elderly
woman died might have never come to the attention of authorities
had it not been for Dr. Postmas insistence that her actions be made
public. While finding Dr. Postma guilty of the crime of mercy
killing that was punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of 12
years, the court imposed a one-week suspended sentence and a weeks
probation. Slide 48 Euthanize Children! The Dutch government has
decided to endorse guidelines for Nonvoluntary euthanasia of
infants. Under the so- called Groningen protocol, euthanasia will
be allowed when a child is terminally ill with no hope of recovery
and suffering great pain, when two doctors agree that the case is
hopeless and when the parents consent. Slide 49 Belgium- not to be
outdone The Belgian act legalizing euthanasia was passed on May 28,
2002 and went into effect on September 23, 2002. It limited
euthanasia to competent adults and emancipated minors. Just
recently, the government announced it intends to extend its
euthanasia law to newborns and children Approximately 2,000 people
have used the law Slide 50 Australia Death by Laptop Performed by
Dr. Philip Nitschke Used the law to assist four people with their
suicides. Hooked up IV to patient which was connected to laptop.
Slide 51 Australia (cont.) Dr. Philip Nitschke Slide 52 Australia
(cont.) Death by Laptop Slide 53 Australia (cont.) Computer asked
three questions: Are you aware that if you go ahead to the last
screen and press the yes button, you will be given a lethal dose of
medicine and die? Yes / No Are you certain you understand that if
you proceed and press the yes button on the next screen, you will
die? Yes / No In 15 seconds you will be given a lethal injection.
Yes / No Nitschke still researching ways to help people kill
themselves Slide 54 Canada Current bill being considered that would
legalize euthanasia Bill C-407 legalizes both euthanasia and
assisted suicide. For people with chronic suffering and mental
pain. Person does not need to try to find other ways of helping
ease pain, they may refuse and just choose euthanasia Anyone can
help euthanize a person, does not need to be a physician, but need
confirmation Slide 55 International Organizations Council of Europe
has rejected bills that would legalize euthanasia UN is against
euthanasia However, wording of new draft for rights of people with
disabilities seems to leave the door open: The text makes illegal
all "medical or related interventions," possibly including
life-saving nutrition and hydration, carried out without the "free
and informed consent" of the person concerned or his legal
representative. Needless to say, Catholic church is strongly
opposed to euthanasia Slide 56 Durable Power of Attorney for Health
Care Also called Protective Medical Decisions Document (PMDD) This
is a signed, witnessed (or notarized) document in which the signer
designates an agent to make health care decisions if the signer is
temporarily or permanently unable to make such decisions The
difference between the power of attorney and a living will is that
this does not require the signor to have a terminal condition Agent
must be willing to execute the wishes of the signor and these
should be thoroughly discussed before signing This has an advantage
over the court appointed guardian who is unfamiliar with the values
of the patient Allowed in every state, but some states require you
file one specifically in that state Limitations The agent does not
have authority to approve the direct and intentional ending or your
life This includes giving lethal injections, removing feeding
tubes, etc. Slide 57 Case Studies Karen Ann Quinlan 2 tales from
Katrina Terri Schiavo Baby MB Slide 58 Karen Ann Quinlan In 1975 a
21-year-old woman named Karen Ann Quinlan suffered a respiratory
arrest that resulted in severe and irreversible brain damage and
left her in a coma. Several months later, after doctors informed
them that their daughter's recovery was extremely unlikely,
Quinlan's parents requested that artificial means of life support
be removed. The hospital refused this request. Slide 59 Court sided
with Family After a lengthy legal battle, in 1976 the Quinlans
obtained a court order allowing them to remove the artificial
respirator that was thought to be keeping their daughter alive. The
New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Quinlans could disconnect
the device so that the patient could "die with dignity." Slide 60
Turned off respirator This decision spawned increased discussion of
the scope of patients' rights to control their death. Although the
respirator was removed in 1976, Quinlan began to breathe on her
own. She lived until 1985 without ever regaining consciousness.
Slide 61 The Tale of Two Choices Hurricane Katrina Hospital case
Assisted Living Case Slide 62 Katrina Track Slide 63 Louisiana
probes 215 deaths A state investigation into whether critically ill
patients were left to die or were euthanized at a New Orleans
hospital during the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is part
of a probe into an estimated 215 deaths at nursing homes and
hospitals across the area, according to the Louisiana Department of
Health and Hospitals. As Reported 10/17/05 Slide 64 Tough Decisions
at Hospital Staff doctors in a New Orleans hospital may have
euthanased critically ill patients with massive doses of morphine
in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. According to the
London's Mail on Sunday, the doctors say that the patients would
have died anyway and some were in great pain. They were unable to
care for them properly when the power failed and looters and
rapists were roaming the wards. Slide 65 These extraordinary claims
have not been reported in the US press and should probably be
treated with some caution. However reporters Caroline Graham and Jo
Knowsley interviewed a doctor who had killed several patients and
assert that a hospital orderly and local government officials had
corroborated her story. Slide 66 "I didn't know if I was doing the
right thing," the doctor reportedly said. "But I did not have time.
I had to make snap decisions, under the most appalling
circumstances, and I did what I thought was right. I injected
morphine into those patients who were dying and in agony. If the
first dose was not enough, I gave a double dose. And at night I
prayed to God to have mercy on my soul." The doctor, who eventually
fled the hospital in fear of being killed by armed looters, denied
that she was a murderer. "This was not murder, this was compassion.
They would have been dead within hours, if not days," she said.
Slide 67 What we did was give comfort to the end. I had cancer
patients who were in agony. In some cases the drugs may have
speeded up the death process. We divided the hospital's patients
into three categories: Those who were traumatised but medically fit
enough to survive, those who needed urgent care, and the dying.
People would find it impossible to understand the situation. I had
to make life-or-death decisions in a split second. Slide 68 It came
down to giving people the basic human right to die with dignity.
There were patients with 'do not resuscitate' signs. Under normal
circumstances some could have lasted several days. But when the
power went out, we had nothing. Some of the very sick became
distressed. We tried to make them as comfortable as possible. The
pharmacy was under lockdown because gangs of armed looters were
roaming around looking for their fix. You have to understand these
people were going to die anyway." Slide 69 The British paper
Scotland on Sunday related yet another hospital mercy killing. A
female manager ordered that a 380 pound man be put down because the
staff could not evacuate him. A weeping doctor told reporter Jacqui
Goddard: "We had minutes to get out, and I asked, 'What are we
going to do about this guy, because he's a big man. It was going to
be tough getting him down those stairs -- the elevators weren't
working. That woman turned to me and said straight out, 'We're
going to help him to heaven'. It makes me want to break down, how
that man's life was taken away." ~ Mail on Sunday (London), Sept 11
Slide 70 Nursing-home owners charged with negligent homicide
"Salvador & Mabel Mangano Slide 71 Refused assistance The
husband-and-wife owners of a New Orleans-area nursing home where 34
people died in Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters were charged Tuesday
with negligent homicide. The case represents the first major
prosecution to come out of the disaster in New Orleans. The owners
of St. Rita's Nursing Home in the town of Chalmette "were asked if
they wanted to move (the patients). They did not. They were warned
repeatedly that this storm was coming. In effect, their inaction
resulted in the deaths of these patients," Louisiana Attorney
General Charles Foti said. Slide 72 Salvador A. Mangano and his
wife, Mable, surrendered and were jailed on 34 counts of negligent
homicide. Each count carries up to five years in prison. The
attorney general said he is also investigating the discovery of
more than 40 corpses at flooded-out Memorial Medical Center, in New
Orleans' Uptown section. The Manganos had an evacuation plan as
required under state law and a contract with an ambulance service
to evacuate the patients, but they did not call the company, Foti
said. They also turned down an offer from St. Bernard Parish
officials who asked if the nursing home wanted help evacuating, he
said. Foti said the bodies have not all been identified and he was
not sure how many of the victims were patients or staff. Slide 73
Nursing Homes May be Responsible in Hurricane Katrina Deaths At
least 140 nursing home patients died in the recent Hurricane
Katrina and her aftermath, prompting criminal investigations by the
government. The Louisiana Attorney Generals Office reported that
they are leading a series of investigations to see whether or not
the nursing homes were negligent in the deaths. Arrests and charges
are likely to occur, as are related personal injury lawsuits. Slide
74 Terri Schiavo In the early 1990s Schiavo had a heart attack and
collapsed incurring massive brain damage and slipping into a coma.
She remained in this coma and after 3 years was in a persistent
vegetative state. (PVS) Slide 75 Terris Loving Husband Beginning in
1998, Schiavos husband began petitioning the courts to remove the
feeding tube that kept her alive claiming that she would not want
to be kept on a machine with no hope for recovery. Her parents
claimed that Schiavo was a devout Roman Catholic who would not wish
to violate the Church's teachings on euthanasia by refusing
nutrition and hydration. Slide 76 Michael Schiavo Vs. The Schindler
Family Slide 77 Persistent Vegetative State The scan on the left is
that of a healthy 25 year old. The light grey areas are healthy,
functioning brain tissue. The scan on the right is that of Terri
Schiavo after her accident. The black areas are non-functional
areas of the brain that have permanently atrophied. An EEG on
Schiavo showed that she had no measurable brain activity. Slide 78
Terris Never had Treatment Michael Schiavo had a girl friend and
children, but he was still the legal guardian of Terri. He
restricted access by her parents- they had to go to court to get
visitation. He refused to give her any medical treatment or to ask
for a second opinion. Slide 79 Terris Law On October 15, 2003
Schiavos feeding tube was removed. Six days later Terris Law was
passed and Gov. Bush sent armed men to take Schiavo to a hospital
to have her feeding tube reinserted. A guardian ad litem was also
appointed that was to report to Gov. Bush On May 5, 2004 Terris Law
was found to be unconstitutional The Supreme Court Refused to hear
the case and March 18, 2005 it was ordered that the feeding tube be
removed again Slide 80 Dust in the Wind Terri was read her last
rites on March 26, 2005 and died on March 31, 2005. Her loving
husband refused to let here parents attend the funeral! He had the
body cremated- and spread the ashes in a secret location! Slide 81
Baby MB MB is a 19 month old baby boy. MB has a condition called
spinal muscular atrophy which leaves him almost totally paralysed.
He requires a ventilator to breathe and cannot cry, chew or
swallow. Slide 82 Doctors- His life is not worth living! All his
doctors and the guardian appointed to represent the child's
interest in court argued that the burdens of his existence
outweighed the benefits. Slide 83 His Parents want to let him live
The parents love their child and want to keep him alive. MB's
mother told the High Court, in London, that the child was
conscious. He responded to cartoon films such as Shrek and Finding
Nemo, but did not appear to like the news or the TV soap
Eastenders. Slide 84 Justice Holman said "It must be assumed that
he processes all of those sights and sounds like any child of his
age and gains pleasure from them," said Justice Holman. "No court
has yet been asked to approve, against the will of parents, the
withdrawal of life support with the inevitable and immediate death
of a conscious child with sensory awareness and cognition, and no
significant evidence of brain damage." Slide 85 Do not resuscitate
or medicate The judge also said that if the child's heart stops,
the hospital would not be required to resuscitate him or to give
antibiotics if he develops serious infections. As reported by the
BBC, Mar 15 2006 Slide 86 Philosophical Views James Rachels James
Sullivan Margaret Battin Slide 87 James Rachels James Rachels- He
argues that there is no moral difference between passive and active
euthanasia. They are either both morally permissible or they are
both wrong. He claims that they are both morally permissible. He
think that there are times when the pain and suffering of an
individual should lead us to help end their suffering. Slide 88
Bishop James Sullivan- Bishop James Sullivan- He argues that God
has providence of matters of life and death. Further he claims that
"intentional killing" is always wrong. He thinks both passive and
active Euthanasia are wrong- yet he admits that there are cases-
such as an infant that is suffering from a painful and incurable
condition, where the doctor should make the baby feel good and
withhold treatment- (Hence passive euthanasia) But it was okay
because the goal was not intentional killing, just easing of pain
Slide 89 Analysis of Sullivan Sullivan is inconsistent. Further his
arguments are not very good. He employs the wedge principle-
(Rachels "the slippery slope") The claim is that once we allow
passive euthanasia, it will lead to active euthanasia and
eventually people will be killing each other for the most trivial
of reasons. Slide 90 Rachels response Rachels gives a rebuttal
where he points out the wedge principle follows neither logically
or psychologically. Logically it does not follow that if we allow
one form of euthanasia that we must also accept any other type of
killing. Psychologically, it is not the case as a society that
because we have allowed one form of Euthanasia that we have lost
all social control and there is murder and mayhem in the streets.
Slide 91 Euthanize the old people Margaret Battin- She argues that
because of a scarcity of heath care resources medical treatment
ought to be withheld from the elderly. This is in effect arguing
for passive euthanasia, because you are withholding lifesaving
treatment. She argues for this because she thinks that the
resources will serve the community better if they are spent on the
younger segment of the population. Slide 92 It is important to note
that such a situation, if it were instituted right now, would
result in an injustice to elderly people today. Why? Because in
point of fact, they have not benefited in their youth by such a
system. Secondly such a system should not be adopted if there are
enough resources in place. If we have enough medicine and enough
doctors, then we should not withhold treatment from anyone.
