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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!idis!cadre!geb
From: geb@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.politics,net.legal
Subject: Re: Vet kills his baby.
Message-ID: <329@cadre.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 19-Feb-85 16:07:53 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.329
Posted: Tue Feb 19 16:07:53 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Feb-85 21:40:18 EST
References: <319@cadre.ARPA> <361@cybvax0.UUCP>
Reply-To: geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks)
Organization: Decision Systems Lab., Univ. of Pgh.
Lines: 39
Xref: watmath net.religion:5678 net.politics:7699 net.legal:1422
Summary: 

In article <361@cybvax0.UUCP> mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz) writes:

>Does anyone
>know what legal rights anyone has to deny heroic measures to offspring or
>oneself?
>
One of the problems is that the law is very murky in this regard.
Once a person enters a hospital, he probably gives up many of his
rights in this regard.  Many doctors are very loathe to allow
even the most hopeless cases to die naturally, especially since
2 physicians in California were prosecuted for murder in such a case.
In my view, there is a strong need for laws which permit a person
to specify that no heroic measures be taken, and if he so does,
protect doctors who let him die from prosecution.  Similar measures
should be taken for the parents of severely retarded or otherwise
deformed infants who would die without extraordinary measures.
The expense of maintaining both infants and elderly in intensive
care and if the infant survives, in special environments is astronomically
expensive.  When the parent's resources are exhausted, the society
bears the burden.  Most people who haven't had such a child are 
unaware of the magnitude of the problem, since these children are
sequestered in special institutions.  Most of them never reach
the IQ of a parakeet, and require constant nursing.  They do feel
pain, however, and it is clear that many, if not most of them
are doomed to a life of suffering.  Is it playing God to let them
die?  In my view, it is playing God to make them live, since they
would die if nature was allowed to take its course.  Unfortunately,
the Reagan administration has taken the view that life must be
preserved at all costs, and has tried to put notices of a toll
free number in hospitals where disgruntled employees could make
accusations against the hospitals and physicians who were thought
to not be doing everything in the power of modern medicine to
keep these fetuses alive.  It is a sorry mess.  I don't think
the answer is to have the fathers smash the child into the
floor, but I still understand his rage, and wouldn't have
convicted him.