This past year the World Medical Association reaffirmed their longstanding position against euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. This is great news and the declaration was strongly worded.
From the World Medical Association’s Declaration on Euthanasia:
“Euthanasia, that is the act of deliberately ending the life of a patient, even at the patient’s own request or at the request of close relatives, is unethical. This does not prevent the physician from respecting the desire of a patient to allow the natural process of death to follow its course in the terminal phase of sickness.”
But I wonder how many people actually read this, or are even aware of the World Medical Association and their strong stance against this growing issue. Indeed, the vast majority of Americans have no idea that euthanasia is so widespread; occurring every single day in the United States and worldwide.
In fact, it is getting worse and most of the general public are unaware how frequently patients, whether agreeing to it or not, are being purposely killed, and in the most barbaric ways. This includes the elderly, those with Alzheimer’s, the cognitively disabled and others.
Europe has its own set of problems and in many ways is in worse shape than the US. All one has to do is read the recent opinion of the Dutch Medical Association and their position that physicians can euthanize sick and dying babies to help end the “suffering” of their parents. What ever happened to a parent’s unconditional love?
No doubt that here is the US we are moving in the same – lacking any sense of compassion – direction. How many Americans, for example, understand that removing food and hydration (via feeding tubes) is now legal in all 50 states?
No longer do we define food and water as basic and ordinary care. Patients’ feeding tubes are now regarded as “medical treatment”, whether it is needed for a short period of time or for those who need one more permanently. And, if in fact you are aware of that change, how many know that depending on what state you live in, removing a feeding tube from a patient can happen despite the patient’s advance directive stating that they want a feeding tube?
For example, just last week we received an email from a patient advocate looking for help. The email said that her patient was admitted to a hospice facility, under the condition that food and water would continue. Against the guardian’s instructions, the attending physician removed the feeding tube. Sadly, the patient died.
Indeed, this is why, despite the growing practice of euthanasia, we need an organization like the World Medical Association to continue to push back against this death agenda, and to challenge other medical organizations to do the same:
“The World Medical Association reaffirms its strong belief that euthanasia is in conflict with basic ethical principles of medical practice, and The World Medical Association strongly encourages all National Medical Associations and physicians to refrain from participating in euthanasia, even if national law allows it or decriminalizes it under certain conditions.”
Every single day the decisions we make for our own medical care are being eroded. And there are an increasing number of health care professionals making “quality of life” decisions regarding whether or not a person should continue to receive life sustaining treatment.
Undoubtedly, this is an issue that will touch every single one of us. Sadly, we have become a nation that places more value on money rather than on the value of those persons who are only in need of our love and compassion.
Unless people start taking responsibility to educate themselves on this issue and on how the laws and the narrative are being changed, it is only going to get worse. Not to mention the consequences of Obamacare, which is in the process of taking over our health care, and which is going to put our medically vulnerable at more risk and in the sites of the government‘s crosshairs.
