National and International Related Issues
| Doctors in Alberta will be allowed to euthanize seriously malformed fetuses in the womb before they are aborted, according to new rules under consideration by the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons. If this policy is approved, doctors will be able to inject the heart of the fetus with a fatal dose of sodium chloride so when it is induced it will not be born live. This procedure, known as “feticide,” will be performed “in order to reduce suffering,” according to the College policy. The College recognizes “this will be a difficult decision for patient, physician and other members of the health-care team and it may be unacceptable. “In that case there must be careful consideration and documentation of a Do Not Resuscitate Order in anticipation of a possible live birth, “ the policy document states. The College is responsible for setting standards of medical care across the province. [62] | |
| The charity group “Age Concern” reports that doctors in some British hospitals are allowing elderly patients to die as pressures build up on the National Health Service to make beds available for new patients. Some doctors ignore national guidelines on the resuscitation of older people which state that such decisions should be based on “clinical need and the express wishes of the patient.” Some elderly patients have found “not for resuscitation” written on their medical notes without their knowledge. “The evidence we have received points to a disregard of the national guidelines,” states Sally Greencross, director of Age Concern of England. At the end of March, 2000, leading British doctors described the lack of funding for long-term care of the elderly as a national disgrace and said it was causing untold hardships and anxiety. In a letter to The British Journal, the president of the Royal College of Physicians and the chief of the British Geriatric Society have called for a public debate on the issue of funding for the National Health Service. [63] |
| 62 | Robert Walker. "Fatal Injections OK'd for Malformed Fetuses," The Calgary Herald. Tue 06 June 2000. |
| 63 | Reuters, London, April 13, 2000. Reported in DAN (Disabled People's Direct Action Network [UK]). |
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