Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Gee, I wonder why pro-lifers are opposed to organ "donation"

Skull

 Texas Hospital Dehydrating 12-Year-Old Boy to Harvest His Organs.

Most patients who fall under a “futile care” decision are living with the assistance of ventilators and feeding tubes. But due to a mistake in procedure, the hospital said the panel didn’t technically convene. Informally, though, hospital officials told Zach’s parents that they didn’t want to treat their son anymore. Three days later, Zach was able to breathe on his own and no longer needed a ventilator.

But that improvement didn’t matter:

On the same day, a family member visited Zach in the hospital and asked the parents why Zach was on palliative care. To the parent’s surprise, Zach was not receiving food or water. When the parents tried to discover why the hospital was denying their son food and water, they found a “do not resuscitate” order in Zach’s chart. According to Texas law, doctors can insert DNR orders into a patient’s chart if the doctor considers care to be futile, overruling both the patient’s and the family’s wishes.