In yesterday's post at Secondhand Smoke Wesley Smith presented this stunning article on a subject to which few of us have given much thought. The survey methods and responses differed between the Dutch doctors and the physicians in Oregon, but it is clear that for a significant number of doctors there is serious emotional fallout from physician assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Results and Discussion: The physician is centrally involved in PAS and euthanasia, and the emotional and psychological effects on the participating physician can be substantial. The shift away from the fundamental values of medicine to heal and promote human wholeness can have significant effects on many participating physicians. Doctors describe being profoundly adversely affected, being shocked by the suddenness of the death, being caught up in the patient's drive for assisted suicide, having a sense of powerlessness, and feeling isolated. There is evidence of pressure on and intimidation of doctors by some patients to assist in suicide. The effect of countertransference in the doctor-patient relationship may influence physician involvement in PAS and euthanasia.
Continued at Marlowe's Shade
My dad had a living will. He had cardia arrest with PEA and V-fib. The ems gave CPR. after arriving at ER the Dr. said they lost him, 10 min. later they asked me to talk to him they had found a pulse in his groin. He was taken to ICU on life support. 24 hours later EEG was done with no brain activity, acute respitory failure, acutre myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmia/ventricular fil arrest, post arrest seizure, hypoxic encephalopathy. They waited another 25 hours before deciding to take him off life support. There was no response from the time he had the arrest at home. I think that they should have been more considerate of me as an only child and of my dad's wishes.
Kaye