Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Oregon to cancer patient, Just kill yourself!

The State of Oregon has told a cancer patient that they will not pay for his chemotherphy, but they will pay for doctor assisted suicide. The patient got a letter from the state of Oregon after requesting care from their state run health system. The letter said that they did not believe he meet the requirement of having at least a 5% chance of living more than five years. However they listed possible comfort care that could be provided including doctor assisted suicide. This is not an isolated event in Oregon.

Dr. John Sattenspiel is in favor of Doctor assisted suicide saying, "I have had patients who would consider knowing that this is part of that range of comfort care or palliative care services that are still available to them, they would be comforted by that. "It really depends on the individual patient." However Sr. William Toffler disagrees. "It's chilling when you think about it," said Dr. William Toffler, a professor of family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. "It absolutely conveys to the patient that continued living isn't worthwhile." Toffler calls it a callous practice that goes against medical convention. "It corrupts the consistent medical ethic that has been in place for 2,000 years," he said. "It's absolutely breathtaking."


Oregon is the only state where doctor assisted suicide is legal. It became legal after the citizens of Oregon voted to make it so in 1997. There have been two more votes on it since then both coming down in favor of doctor assisted suicide. It is pitched has an compassionate way to help a person struggling with a terminal illness to "die with dignity." However it looks like a fast way to make, or save a cheap buck to me. Just a note to all the people who want a nationalized healthcare system this kind of thing would be happening all the time under that plan.

Good thing for Stroup's family, suicide was never an option for him. He fought back, and the Oregon Health Plan reversed its decision, in his case, and is now paying for his chemotherapy. Now maybe he'll be around a little longer to care for his 80-year-old mother and play with his five grandchildren. But what about all the others who have been told their better off dead by the State of Oregon?

read the whole story here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,392962,00.html

2 comments:

  1. You don't have any evidence that this kind of thing "would be happening all the time" in a universal health care system.

    Heck, I'd think of this article as proof positive that the health care industry needs to be reformed.

    Also, how would this be happening all over the country if Oregon is the only state where this is even legal?

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  2. It's a matter of keeping cost down. The only thing that would change is that Oregon would be the only state with doctor assisted suicide. The government would still refuse to treat people who didn't have a good chance of living in their judgement. They'd give them comfort care instead.

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