Everlasting Place
  • Home
  • One way
    • Proof
  • Sadie Sparrow
    • Sadie Sparrow Excerpt
    • Author Chat
    • Articles
    • Book Reviews
  • Memoir
    • Memoir Excerpts
    • Reviews, interviews & endorsements
  • Blogs
    • Eternal eyes: a blog about forever
    • Golden years: a blog about the elderly
  • Old folks
    • Planting tips for Christians
  • Messages from Chris Carrillo
  • Library
  • Bookstore
  • Contact

Suddenly, "caring" means "no care"

12/30/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
“He’s going to die anyway – he’s old and sick! Why waste money trying to save him?”

That’s the thinking behind H.R. 1339, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act; S. 641, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act; and H.R. 1666, the Patient Centered Quality Care for Life Act. They’re federal initiatives designed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on promoting the value of putting sick people in hospice and treating their symptoms rather than trying to save their lives.

Of course there comes a time when it’s wasteful and perhaps cruel to try to keep a dying patient alive. But it seems that we already do a pretty good job of identifying this threshold, at bringing in the hospice workers and bringing out the painkillers. Why do we need to spend all this money on training professionals to help people die; don’t they cover this in med school? Why do we need to invest so much on educating the public as to the benefits of death; don’t we all realize that one day our lives will end?

Does death really need a costly educational and PR campaign? And how about the proposed new national supervisory board to make sure everyone’s complying with this new way of thinking?

Interestingly, such legislation seems to be enthusiastically endorsed by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. Funny – I thought ACS was spending our donations on finding cures, not throwing in the towel.

It’s all about “quality of life,” they assure us; but don’t they really mean “quality of death”?  

Don’t get me wrong. For Christians, death is simply the door to everlasting life and eternal joy. “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord,” the apostle Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 5:8.

But who exactly will make the decision that today is the day? The newly educated family? The overworked doctor? The hospice aide? Or maybe a member of the national supervisory board? (If the latter, “death panel” really would be an apt description for this body.) 

Or will there be thousands of pages of regulations to help a bureaucrat of some sort decide when it’s time to pull the plug?

And whoever the decision-maker turns out to be, who exactly made him or her God?

I address this in the Golden Years blog because of course it’ll be the elderly who will be the biggest victims of this legislation. After all, they’re drains on our tax revenues, not contributors. The sooner we can get them out of the way, the better for everyone concerned. 

If that doesn't make sense to you right now, don't worry. The feds are going to re-educate you until it does.

The prophet Isaiah warned that this day would come. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

Is anyone listening?
2 Comments
Linda
2/21/2016 08:14:57 pm

Yes, I'm listening, and I agree with what you post here.

My own Dad was legally euthanized by hospice workers. Yes, even though we were promised that he would receive NO medication as he was not in pain. And I can tell you that the doctors and nurses are not held accountable, as they seem to believe they have the "right" to make a decision to give medications.

(My Dad received 5 different "pain" medications unknown to us until we asked for the medical records.)

Reply
Kitty Foth-Regner link
2/22/2016 05:14:14 am

I'm so sorry about your Dad, Linda -- it's just horrifying! I wonder how many families this happens to every year -- and if there are any statistics available. Guess it's time to follow up on this story.

Reply



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.

    Archives

    December 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Care to subscribe?

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from Anas Qtiesh, quinn.anya, skippyjon, gagilas, ulrichkarljoho, Schleeo, djpoblete09, 00alexx, NathanPeck, Riccardo Palazzani, MaartenEyskens, jfinnirwin, romana klee, bundesinnung_ha, theglobalpanorama, Street Photography Addict, StockMonkeys.com, Robert Agthe, Genista, Neillwphoto, frankieleon, RamónP, National Eye Institute, Pink Dispatcher, Tony Webster, quinn.anya, Peter23394, anna gutermuth, neovain, Keith Allison, lewisha1990, Phú Thịnh Co, byzantiumbooks, avlxyz, eastmidtown, 593D ESC, simpleinsomnia, mcohen.chromiste, Pictures by Ann, Stampendous, loop_oh, tedeytan, TipsForComputer.Com, ssilberman, pedrosimoes7, forayinto35mm, Never Edit, GlasgowAmateur, weiss_paarz_photos, Borya, The Graphic Details, robynejay, allenthepostman, quinn.anya, u.hopper, fallingwater123, Alyssa L. Miller, Vincent Albanese, homethods, ponyQ, Braiu, CNE CNA C6F, oakenroad, Tim Evanson, medisave, irinaraquel, Steve Ganz, Nieve44/Luz, roscoland2, One Way Stock, Film Star Vintage, ulrichkarljoho, anieto2k, meaduva, Homini:), campbelj45ca, Nicolas Alejandro Street Photography, Hades2k, Alyssa L. Miller, Carlos Ebert, @Tuncay, kms1167, Petful.com, m01229, jonrawlinson, Brian Smithson (Old Geordie), Blogging Dagger, fechi fajardo, SurfaceWarriors, Leah Abernathy, evans.photo, brianna.lehman, mikecogh, Ejuice, christine.gleason, Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca, Derek Bridges, ulrichkarljoho, One Way Stock, Matt Cunnelly, nandadevieast, cathyse97, quinn.anya, faungg's photo, Lars Plougmann, C Jill Reed, johnthoward1961, mcohen.chromiste, hardeep.singh, physiognomist, ulrichkarljoho, 401(K) 2013, Very Quiet, BromfordGroup, garryknight, Official U.S. Navy Imagery, acasasola, mrbillt6, simpleinsomnia, johanSisno, GollyGforce, Jo Jakeman, Mire de rien, Chris Mower, lotopspin, Marlene Rybka Visualizing & Photography, RLHyde, jez.atkinson, orionpozo, quinn.anya, global.quiz, Public Places, alubavin, drs2biz, espensorvik, ♔ Georgie R, h.koppdelaney, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, Images_of_Money, ttarasiuk, TheArches