Euthanasia

Authentic Compassion Pt. 2 – Pain Treatment at the End of Life

Monday, April 30th, 2012

By Denise J. Hunnell, M.D.

In 1994, Dr. Charles Cleeland authored a study that found that 42% of cancer patients with pain were receiving inadequate therapy for their pain. This led to the Health and Human Services (HHS) guidelines for more aggressive pain management and the ubiquitous question about your level of pain “on a scale of 1 to 10” every time you visit the doctor for any reason.

The interest in pain management was actually a response to the push for legalized assisted suicide. Advocates of assisted suicide claimed that uncontrolled pain justified aiding cancer patients to end their lives. At the time, there were proclamations by medical experts that 90% of pain could be easily treated and there was no risk of addiction for those who were actually in pain.

So where are we nearly two decades later? A new study just published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology finds that while pain management has improved, a significant number of cancer patients are still suffering. Dr. Michael Fisch and his colleagues looked at over three thousand patients with breast, lung, prostate, or colorectal cancer. Of the two thousand patients who complained of pain, roughly one-third were receiving inadequate therapy for their pain. The reasons for this failure to adequately alleviate pain are varied and complex. Physicians cited concerns about raising red flags for excessive use of pain relievers monitored by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as a reason for using suboptimal doses of opiod analgesics. Patients resisted the use of pain medicine, fearing these powerful drugs would adversely affect their level of functioning. Some patients had a cultural stoicism that made it difficult for them to admit they had pain and needed medication. Many patients did not speak English well and had a difficult time communicating their need for pain relief to their physicians. In 50% of all patients with inadequate pain relief, oncologists treating the patient did not deem the pain to be related to cancer and therefore, did not aggressively pursue therapy to alleviate the pain. (more…)

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Authentic Compassion

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

By Denise J. Hunnell, M.D.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

The closing prayer of the Divine Mercy Chaplet was on my mind when I read about Charles D. Snelling and his wife Adrienne. The Snellings were deeply devoted to each other for over sixty years of marriage. They were blessed with five children and eleven grandchildren. They were both well educated and came from socially prominent families. Yet on March 29, 2012, Charles Snelling killed his wife and then took his own life. According to the Washington Post, Adrienne Snelling had Alzheimer’s disease and did not want to live after all hope of a “good life” was over.

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Of Rationing, Death and End of Life Care

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

By Arland K. Nichols

In 1997 the state of Oregon legalized physician assisted suicide (PAS), allowing a physician to aid and abet an individual in the unthinkable act of self-murder without fear of criminal prosecution. In many ways this disastrous decision both marked and helped to effect a shift in the thinking of Americans, many of whom increasingly view the elderly and disabled as expendable if they are no longer useful to society.

Since 1997, proponents of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have found efforts to legalize the practice to be slow going—only Washington State has joined Oregon by declaring suicide a medical treatment in keeping with the needs of patients. In the meantime, however, it appears that society has warmed to PAS, as supporters have manipulated public opinion by employing euphemisms to make it more palatable. Advocates describe PAS in sterile terms such as “self termination” and “self deliverance,” and even apparently laudable terms such as “an act of compassion and mercy,” a “choice for freedom from suffering” and “aid in dying.” Behind this fabricated veil of credibility and compassion, they have won victories in the court of public opinion.

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An Exciting Announcement From HLI America

Friday, October 28th, 2011

By Arland K. Nichols

I am excited to announce the next HLI America conference, which will be held in the great state of Texas. We are proud to join Christus Santa Rosa Health System and Assumption Seminary to present “Human Dignity at the End of Life,” to be held in San Antonio on March 23-24, 2012.

We chose the timely topic of “end of life” issues because it is becoming clear that many in the health care profession are being pushed to accept euthanasia and physician assisted suicide for patients who do not appear to have ahead of them what some would call a useful and productive life. By in large, our society is becoming more and more amenable to euthanasia, physician assisted suicide, and even organ donation before a patient has died. In such a deteriorating culture, it is becoming increasingly difficult for physicians, nurses, chaplains and family members to make sound decisions for those they love and serve.

Two years ago, at the urging of Archbishop Jose Gomez, Chris Stravitsch (who is now an HLI America Fellow), Rev. Jaime Robledo and I founded a program named “Converging Roads,” with the primary goal of educating health care professionals in Catholic health care ethics. Our desire was to form physicians, nurses, chaplains and all who work in the health care field so that they might be equipped with the tools necessary to provide care that is both medically and morally excellent.

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The Desire for Suicide is Always Unsound

Monday, August 8th, 2011

By Ronald L. Anderson

God gives the heaviest crosses to those in whom he wishes to produce the most holiness. Yet in a world so disconnected from this truth—and from Truth Himself—many are blind to the gift that such a cross can be, viewing them as merely burdens from which no good could possibly come.

Despite the fact that suicidal tendencies have historically been considered symptoms of an unsound mind, those who promote the “right-to-die” insist that mental stability is a main criterion for being eligible to use their services. For example, the State of Oregon has an online form available here that is required before “patients” are allowed to proceed with their desire to procure state-sanctioned death. It contains the following language just above the area for the consulting psychiatrist to sign, indicating his approval:

I have determined through evaluation that the above-named patient is not suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder, or depression causing impaired judgment, in conformance with ORS 127.825 [The “Counseling Referral” portion of the Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” law].

 

Yet, it can reasonably be argued that those who suffer from terminal illnesses,might not be in the proper frame of mind to make such a drastic decision. At the prospect of any suffering, many search for the surest way of alleviation. Therefore, a request for suicide made by a person in grave pain should be interpreted carefully through the lens of that suffering, and alternative solutions should be sought.

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