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Should we heed Gladys Baldwin's warning?

6/11/2019

7 Comments

 
Picture
You can learn a lot about life from nursing-home residents--even the fictional ones. Consider elderly Gladys Baldwin's warning in chapter 55 of The Song of Sadie Sparrow:  
Sadie Sparrow
Monday, May 28
​
“Here we go again,” Gladys said, sighing dramatically as she surveyed the rainbow of pills in the little plastic cup that nurse Char had given her. Then, suspiciously, “What’s the blue-and-green one for?”

Char bent close to her patient and lowered her voice, but anyone in the vicinity could hear her. “It’s for depression, Gladys. It’s the new one that your psychiatrist prescribed.”

“Well I don’t want it!” Gladys picked it out of the cup and threw it on the table, amidst her arrangement of the greenish puzzle pieces that would ultimately fit into a jungle scene packed with lizards and lemurs.  

Char retrieved the capsule and tucked it carefully into a drawer on her cart. “I’ll let him know.”

“You do that, honey. And tell him I don’t care to see him again. There’s nothing wrong with me. Who wouldn’t be depressed at my age?” Gladys scowled at Sadie. “These doctors are trying to poison us, I tell you!”

She spotted an aide passing the doorway. “Girl! Girl! Come here this instant! Take me home!”
 
Astoundingly, the young woman complied; if Sadie had been in her position, she would have feigned deafness and kept going.
 
“I’m warning you,” Gladys hissed at Sadie as she was whisked away, her chin jutting out regally. “It’s all poison!”
 
--From The Song of Sadie Sparrow, pages 327-328 ​

Was Gladys correct? Are those of us who live “too long” destined for what’s now being called EAS—Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide?
 
Now hear this from a 2011 research report published in the peer-reviewed Canadian journal Current Oncology: “Although the initial intent was to limit euthanasia and assisted suicide to a last-resort option for a very small number of terminally ill people, some jurisdictions now extend the practice to newborns, children, and people with dementia.”
 
Is this correct? If so, where, and under what circumstances? (I've emailed the authors for details but have yet to hear back.)

How about this: Is there any truth to reports of human euthanasia in the European Union? How about the whispered rumors of involuntary euthanasia—for instance
, the 2018 report on putting an elderly dementia patient to sleep in The Netherlands, while she tried in vain to fight off her attackers?
 
Then there’s this study from the Netherlands, published in late 2018. Its authors claim euthanasia is quite rare. Here's the scoop: They analyzed the medical records of 5361 patients who died over the course of four months in 2015--patients who had had “psychiatric disorders, dementia, or an accumulation of health problems.” In this select group, they said, euthanasia was given to only 6.3% of those who had requested it, whereas 4.9% of these folks were denied euthanasia.  
 
Let that sink in.
 
A total of 11.2% of the dead people studied, at least some mentally challenged and all in the care of medical professionals, asked to be murdered. And these medical professionals “only” granted the request for 6.3% of them.
 
To put it into a sound bite: 338 of the people in this limited group, all suffering from “psychiatric disorders, dementia, or an accumulation of health problems,” were euthanized in the Netherlands in late 2015.
 
Keep in mind that these deaths occurred several years ago, presumably when the European debate over euthanasia was still ongoing, if not exactly raging. Consider, too, that those analyzed represented just a slice of the deceased in Holland during that period.
 
Perhaps most disturbing, this study only looked at patients who had requested euthanasia. No word on those who didn’t ask for it.    
 
You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to find hard statistics on this practice, even in the scientific journals. But if the deafening silence on this topic is any indication, the practice of putting human beings out of their misery--willingly or unwillingly--may be gaining steam.
 
Perhaps we’d best launch the debate in the U.S. sooner rather than later. If we don’t, the application of EAS may well slip beneath the radar of Americans too distracted to notice—or too hardened by our culture of death to care.
7 Comments
Ron Whited
6/12/2019 04:19:12 pm

Kitty,
I really appreciate your articles about the aged. In a field not known for garnering much attention by celebrities and politicians, you are like a voice crying in the wilderness. I pray that you will continue to be the voice of those who have none.

I believe you have hit the proverbial nail on the head with your last paragraph, especially the last ten words. Think about this...

We in America have now raised an entire generation that does not know of an America before abortion. Killing the innocent is normal to them,indeed, the culture of death that you mentioned is the end result of those who see society as a sort of macabre experiment in the selection of life and death.

When free health care for all becomes law, no doubt some form of “mercy killing” will be an option available for those deemed useless and burdensome to society. The very aged, terminally ill, and those institutionalized for various reasons will quickly become an unsustainable drain of the grandiose plan of free health care. The solution to this drain on available resources will be the elimination of those consuming the most resources.

We would be very naive to believe that somehow America will regain it’s collective consciousness and treat all members of society with dignity and respect. Apart from God, which is exactly where America finds itself today, we are adrift on the seas of humanism and barbarism.

Sadly, in my opinion we have crossed the point of no return and are left in the unenviable position of crying “God have mercy upon us”.

Reply
Kitty Foth-Regner link
6/12/2019 05:29:08 pm

Whoa, Ron, another extraordinary comment from you. I agree with you across the board ... especially with YOUR last paragraph. Maranatha!

Reply
healingInHim
6/16/2019 10:32:11 am

Excellent post, Kitty and comment from Ron.
As a Canadian, the battle rages here on this topic. I attempt to educate those who have ears to hear. We live in a culture of death. We must let our last requests be known to trusted loved ones otherwise those who feel they are far more educated will make the decision for our "end of life". It's very disturbing how many can be manipulated into ending their life for whatever reason.
Praying. "Lord have mercy and protect the vulnerable." <3

Reply
Kitty Foth-Regner link
6/17/2019 06:33:27 am

Sage advice from the north, folks!

Reply
Dean Neumann
6/26/2019 10:42:10 am

Very good article, Kitty. The term “health care” in the USA and a good part of the so-called first world is more of a misnomer. A doctor’s goal is not to restore health, but to relieve symptoms. There is no profit in restoring health, especially when most cures are not patentable. It’s better to not fall into the clutches of the medical industrial complex.

Reply
Kitty Foth-Regner link
6/26/2019 11:17:48 am

You're probably right in many cases, Dean, although I do know some very wonderful doctors, one in particular at the nursing home. They aren't all in it just for the money!

Reply
Dean Neumann
6/26/2019 07:25:55 pm

That is true, If you are involved in some kind of trauma, yes, medical science is pretty good. They still don't understand the process of healing from the trauma situation. Hospital food is terrible.




Leave a Reply.

    Kitty
    Foth-Regner

    I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, a freelance copywriter, a nursing-home volunteer, and the author of books both in-process and published -- including
    Heaven Without Her.

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