Family alleges failure of care at SF Catholic hospital

A family from Boston says their loved one died at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco after staff broke their own code of ethics and refused to provide basic care. ABC-7

New health-care law raises concerns about respecting providers' consciences

Deep within the massive health-care overhaul legislation, a few little-noticed provisions have quietly reignited one of the bitterest debates in medicine: how to balance the right of doctors, nurses and other workers to refuse to provide services on moral or religious grounds with the right of patients to get care.

Advocates for protecting health workers argue the new law leaves vulnerable those with qualms about abortion, morning-after pills, stem cell research and therapies, assisted suicide and a host of other services. Proponents of patients' rights, meanwhile, contend that, if anything, the legislation favors those who oppose some end-of-life therapies and the termination of pregnancies and creates new obstacles for dying patients and women seeking abortions.

Both sides acknowledge that the scope of any new conflicts that might arise under the legislation will become clear only as the implications of the overhaul unfold. But both agree that clashes are probably inevitable. Washington Post

Starvation 'within patient's rights'

Medical ethics experts have stood by a terminally ill patient's wish to starve herself to death, saying a doctor's task is to prevent suffering and not death.
Margaret Page has not eaten for 11 days and has drunk only a small amount of water. She has said she no longer wants to live, and three psychiatric assessments have found her capable of making her own decisions. The facility is respecting her decision as her right.

Mrs Page's husband, Barry Page, separated for 12 years, said the facility she lives in was not doing enough. He said his wife was starving herself to death in a "hunger strike" because the facility would not help walk her to the toilet and would not get her a wheelchair with a seat that did not hurt her. She also wanted "technology" in her room to stave off boredom. She was on a waiting list for these things and still several months away from getting them, he said. NZ Herald

First U.S. stem cells transplanted into spinal cord

For the first time in the United States, stem cells have been directly injected into the spinal cord of a patient. Doctors injected stem cells from 8-week-old fetal tissue into the spine of a man in his early 60s who has advanced ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. . . . These particular stem cells -- which came from the spinal cord of an 8-week-old fetus -- are neural stem cells, which have the ability to turn into different types of nerve cells. These are not the same stem cells as the controversial human embryonic stem cells, which destroy the embryo when the stem cells are removed. CNN

Editor: Are they hoping to slip one past us, as though the 8-week-old fetus isn't being destroyed. Oh right, it's aborted first. Not "controversial?" I don't think so. See What About Fetal Tissue Harvesting?

Illegal organ trade rife in China

Organ trafficking in China is more active than ever despite efforts to crack down on the trade, with kidneys being openly bought and sold online in a dozen cities across the country. The Chinese Government has tried to limit organ trafficking by launching a national organ donation system earlier this year. But the program is failing to attract donors, with China boasting one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world, and instead people are turning to organ trading websites. One Chinese kidney trading website is packed with organ brokers' advertisements where contact numbers are openly on display. The ads ask potential sellers to contact them, promising a safe surgery and a quick cash payment. ABC News (Australia)

Elderly couple's suicide pact

Dennis Milner, 83, and his wife Flora, 81, from Newbury, Berkshire, sent a statement to the BBC saying they had “chosen to peacefully end our lives” to avoid “a living death.” The couple’s bodies were discovered on Sunday. In the note, the couple said they hoped to draw attention to the “serious human dilemma” faced by those who want to end their lives. In handwritten notes below a typed section of the letter, Dennis Milner wrote: “Arranging this so that it does not fail has been very difficult and traumatic for us. This need not and should not be the case.” In a statement with the letter they said that they had enjoyed “a happy, loving and exciting life” and thanked the NHS for extending their lives. The couple’s daughter, Chrissy, told the BBC her parents were in good health but wanted to end their lives before they were unable to care for themselves. BBNews

Robert Schindler Dies

Robert Schindler, the father of Terri Schindler Schiavo, whose former husband subjected her to a painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death, died overnight. Schindler, 72, had been battling health issues and he died of apparent heart failure. Bioethics watchdog Wesley J. Smith noted that "his health was broken by the ordeal of trying to save his daughter’s life and he never fully recovered from the horror of watching her dehydrate to death." LifeNews

Bioengineering Graft Could Lay Ground for Organ Growth

A roll-your-own blood vessel, grown in the laboratory from a person's own cultured cells, works well in kidney dialysis patients, making it the first complex bioengineered tissue part built without synthetic components. The technique may someday be used to grow internal organs as well, researchers say. NewScientist Health

The Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

The 2nd International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide is being held on May 29-30, 2009 at the National Conference Center in Landsdowne, Virginia. Speakers for the Symposium include: Rita Marker, Wesley J. Smith, Diane Coleman, Stephen Drake, Dr. William Toffler, Dr. Bob Orr, Dr. Mark Mostert, Ian Dowbiggin, Randy Richardson, Bobby Schindler, Eileen Geller, Margaret Dore, Elizabeth Wickham, Alison Davis, Dr. Peter Saunders, Colin Harte, Lionel Roosemont, Nancy Valko, and Alex Schadenberg. Euthansia Prevention Coalition

Prescriptions Filled for WA Assisted Suicide

Two prescriptions have been filled for life-ending drugs under Washington's new assisted suicide law, state health officials said Thursday. Health Department spokesman Tim Church said he could not provide any details about the people considering suicide, but the department has received two forms from pharmacists saying they have dispensed the drugs that people say they want to use to end their lives. Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Prof Accuses Hospital of 'Culture of Euthanasia'

A key report has accused a Hampshire hospital of a “culture of involuntary euthanasia on the wards” after questions were raised over the deaths of several patients. A senior doctor, Dr Jane Barton, in charge of the ward known as the ‘end of the line’ where almost 100 patients died at the time, faces a hearing with the General Medical Council later this year. The Christian Institute

Couples Forced Into Abortions or Have Disabled Child as NHS Refuses to Fund Tests

Couples with serious genetic conditions in their family have been forced to face the agonising decision to bring up a disabled child or terminate a pregnancy because the NHS is refusing to pay for testing, experts said. Telegraph.co.uk

Eschew Enhancement: Memory-Boosting Drugs Should Not Be Made Available to the General Public

In an effort to provide Alzheimer's and schizophrenia patients with better, safer medicines, biotech and big pharma have embarked on drug discovery programs targeting multiple cognitive mechanisms. For patients suffering from these diseases, the new drugs have the potential to improve cognitive function over a longer term than available treatments, which fade in effectiveness over time. Yet given the leaky and lucrative electronic trade in prescription drugs, it's likely that these medicines will also be available to healthy people who hope to benefit from them as well. MIT Technology Review

Foolproofing Suicide with Euthanasia Test Kits

When someone with a terminal illness decides to end his or her life by overdosing on barbiturates, they may hope the drugs will lull them into a peaceful and permanent sleep. But if the drugs have passed their expiration date or lack a sufficiently lethal concentration, the would-be suicide victim may actually survive — risking an array of complications including coma, reduced physical functioning and the opprobrium of disapproving friends and family. Now, in an effort to provide certainty to those contemplating suicide, one of the world's leading euthanasia advocates plans to sell barbiturate-testing kits to confirm that deadly drug cocktails are, in fact, deadly. Time Magazine

Brain Death: Can It Be Resuscitated?

Why is a patient with a destroyed brain considered dead rather than moribund and irreversibly comatose? The world has been grappling with this question for the past four decades with little success. The recently released white paper of the President’s Council on Bioethics is in many respects a refreshing, thoughtful, and comprehensive reexamination of this complex topic. The Hastings Center

British Scientists Tout Future Cure for Blindness with ESCs: What Would You Do If It Really Works?

Although successful treatment hasn't even been tried yet, I think this one is notable because private money (Pfizer) is being put into the development of the treatment--venture capital has been, heretofore, notably scarce in ESCR. Thus, I think it is fair to say that when a very big drug company puts money into a potential therapy, there is at least a decent chance it will work. And that brings up an important question for those who oppose ESCR. What if it works and bending our ethical views could lead to our seeing again, but staying true to our beliefs would mean continuing vision impairment? ESC's Potential for Treating Blindness?

Physicians Urged to Honor Death With Dignity Act

Washington nonprofit, Compassion and Choices, urges physicians statewide who are willing to participate in the Death with Dignity Act to contact the organization so patients struggling to access the service can be referred. Compassion and Choices of Washington knows only a handful of doctors in the state who will perform the service, and they say there are none in the Mid-Columbia area. C and C Urges Physician Death Referrals in WA

Response from Human Life Alliance: As the new Washington State law that legalized physician assisted suicide took effect early in March, local media continues to push their pro-death agenda. In an attempt to coerce and pressure health care professionals and hospitals to participate in assisted suicide, the Seattle Times is blatantly portraying only the pro-assisted suicide position of the debate. Tell The Seattle Times what you think, by clicking here. Click on "Request a Correction" to submit your concerns or call 206-464-3310.

Killer Drugs Ban on Swiss Suicide Clinic

Switzerland’s highest court has banned the suicide clinic Dignitas from stockpiling lethal drugs used to end the lives of its clients. Dignitas founder, Ludwig Minelli, insisted he needed to keep stocks of the lethal barbiturate in case of an “emergency”, such as patients spilling or vomiting their dose as they committed suicide. Critics claimed that Dignitas merely wanted to avoid the need for clients to consult a doctor. Dignitas Killer Drug Ban

NHS Meltdown: Blow the Whistle on Neglect of Elderly Patients--and You Take the Fall

Our world is so upside-down. A nurse secretly filmed terrible neglect of elderly UK hospital patients--and she is sanctioned for misconduct! Whistle-Blower Elder Neglect From the Original Story

Dead When the Doctor Says You Are

Dead is dead, except when it's not. Deciding when somebody is dead or about to die is quickly emerging as one of the top ethical issues in medicine today as technology makes it increasingly possible to keep people alive who would otherwise have died not so long ago. Dead When Doctors Say So