Parents demanding NHS pay to send dying sprog to US

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kman
The issue in the US is that the bioethics has evolved to be similar to the utilitarian, futile-care theory in vogue in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, where the notion that it is preferable to euthanize or simply to deny treatment to some patients under some conditions has taken root. Such patients are encouraged to kill themselves, with doctors there even assuring them that their organs could be transplanted so the patients' death would be beneficial to society.

I've seen several loved ones go through their end-of-life care here in the US, some on Medicare and Medicaid, and I have NEVER seen one of them encouraged to kill themselves. I've seen them encouraged to continue expensive and pointless treatments, leaving behind massive debt, but I've never heard of anyone being encouraged to kill themselves.

Quote
kittehpeoples

Quote
kman
The issue in the US is that the bioethics has evolved to be similar to the utilitarian, futile-care theory in vogue in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, where the notion that it is preferable to euthanize or simply to deny treatment to some patients under some conditions has taken root. Such patients are encouraged to kill themselves, with doctors there even assuring them that their organs could be transplanted so the patients' death would be beneficial to society.

I've seen several loved ones go through their end-of-life care here in the US, some on Medicare and Medicaid, and I have NEVER seen one of them encouraged to kill themselves. I've seen them encouraged to continue expensive and pointless treatments, leaving behind massive debt, but I've never heard of anyone being encouraged to kill themselves.

I think kman was suggesting this is the case in Europe, which as far as I am aware as a UK health professional and having lived in one of the countries mentioned, is 100% BS. Assisted dying is still incredibly hard to access Europe wide and no health professional that I have ever met anywhere is allowed to recommend it to patients. They are allowed to give information about palliative care options which may include the details of assisted dying organizations like Dignitas, but that is not the same as doctors telling patients to kill themselves.

I was reading some of the articles covering this story over the last couple of weeks (work has been fucking SLOW). I've never heard of the bizarre condition the poor kid has, but even if he could have been treated by an experimental procedure, what kind of quality of life would he have had? Did they ever explain that in any of the coverage? Being alive and having a life are completely different things.

I can kind of understand why the government and/or doctors stepped in to make decisions here. Parents will make irrational choices because they think with their hearts while those who aren't related to the sick child will have a greater ability to make rational choices in the child's best interests. Charlie Gard's parents wanted him to live at all costs; from what I could tell, they didn't seem to give a shit what kind of a life he'd have, just as long as he was alive. His doctors overrode the parents' wishes because they were too emotional to sit down and think about what's best for their kid. Most parents don't realize that sometimes what is best for a sick child/person is to allow them to pass away. I know it can truly suck to have to come to terms with the fact that so many babies are born healthy all the time and yours is terminally ill, but to keep a child alive indefinitely when it has absolutely no hope is selfish. Would the kid have even survived the trip to the US for this experimental treatment considering how soon he died after being taken off life support?

Though to be fair, I didn't get why the hospital wouldn't allow the parents to take the kid home to die peacefully. I'm assuming it was to cover their own asses in the event the parents decided to try to sue the hospital for allowing them to take their kid home because "duhhhhh, we didn't know he'd DIE when taken off life support!"

In spite of the fact both parents have fucked-up genes that caused them to create a doomed child, I guarantee they're already working on a replacement because surely lightning can't strike in the same place twice, right? I wouldn't be surprised if we get to go through the same rodeo all over again in about a year and a half with the same dumbass parents when they make a second deformed, terminal child.

Honestly, I'm just relieved the kyd is dead. No more putting him through the indignity and discomfort of pointless medical procedures, and no more wasted resources on a kyd who has zero quality of life.

I talked with my dad about this a couple weeks ago. He's a physician and he said: part of working in the medical field is being a good steward of our resources. Expending resources on a hopeless case isn't good stewardship.