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MY BROTHER WAS EUTHANIZED

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MY BROTHER WAS EUTHANIZED

December 2020
By Kathleen Friedman

Note from the editor: The below report is sadly similar to many HALO receives. These stories serve as a reminder to be vigilant whenever a medically vulnerable loved one is receiving hospice care, and not to delay seeking help if you suspect that a life is in danger in any healthcare setting.

I believe my brother, Joseph Baxter, was euthanized at a hospice and palliative care center in New Hampshire.

From the evening my brother was taken to the hospital by ambulance on June 24, 2020, the doctors were pushing hospice on us. My husband, a board-certified Gastroenterologist and Internist from New York, responded to the doctor on call that Joe at least deserved a chance to get to his first chemotherapy treatment. Joe had stage 4 esophageal cancer. The previous week, he had undergone surgery to place two stents in his esophagus so he could eat food or drink Boost shakes until his first chemotherapy treatment. Joe was three weeks shy of his 65th birthday. From diagnosis to death, it was two months.

The hospital’s doctors kept insisting on hospice. I finally caved on Monday, June 27, after being told that he possibly had another perforation in his esophagus. (A few days prior to this, a third stent had been surgically placed to try to “plug” a perforation that no doctor was able to determine was even there.) The day he was to leave the hospital for the hospice center, my husband asked for a CT scan to determine if there was a perforation; and, if so, where it was located and if it could be sealed. In response, we were told that Joe would be unable to lay flat and be still for the scan. My husband saw Joe when he was being prepared for the move to hospice. Guess what? He was lying flat and still!

Once he got to the hospice center, they would not give my brother intravenous fluids. I knew he was thirsty and dehydrated (as acknowledged by my husband, a physician) and asked for an IV. The hospice doctor replied, “To what end?”

My husband asked for oxygen to be administered by nasal cannula. After some discussion with my husband, this was provided reluctantly.

The day my brother died, the hospice doctor asked me a peculiar question: “Will there be anyone else coming to visit your brother?” I replied, “No.” Six hours later, I received the call that Joe had passed away. Below is a day-by-day summary of what unfolded:

Day 1 (Monday) in hospice: The doctor asked Joe if he had any short-term goals. Joe responded that he wanted to get out of bed and use the bathroom; get to his first chemo treatment (which had been scheduled for July 13, 2020); attend his 65th birthday party at a local lake in VT; visit his nephew for his 4th birthday in August; and then fly to Las Vegas. The doctor told Joe that she would bring in a physical therapist to evaluate his ability to sit up and walk. He was given Ativan and morphine throughout the evening “to help him sleep and for pain” I was told.

Day 2 (Tuesday) in hospice: My family and I arrived at about 10:30 am. Joe was awake and alert. I asked if the physical therapist had been in to see him to evaluate his ability to walk to the bathroom. He replied, “No, nobody has come in so far.” He then called his bank to pay some bills and face-timed with my son and his family in Florida. He also asked me to get him a thick shake. Later, he asked for a Dr. Pepper. He drank both. He was looking and acting fine. I asked again about giving him some IV fluids as the urine in the collection bag was becoming a darker color. The hospice staff told me Joe could not have an IV. He could have as much fluid as he wanted, but it would have to be given orally, which my brother had difficulty with due to his cancer. He was sipping some liquids, but his intake was barely enough to prevent dehydration. As evening approached, he was given more Ativan and morphine.

Day 3 (Wednesday) in hospice: My son drove up from New York to visit with Joe. He was less coherent than he had been the prior two days. I was told he was very anxious and in pain during the night and was given more Ativan and morphine. However, he was able to converse with his nephew for a few hours. In addition, when my son and husband were in his room, they were discussing something, thinking Joe was asleep. To their surprise, he heard every word they were saying. (I believe they were looking for the cell phone extension cord. Joe came out of his sleep-like state and told them exactly where it was.) Joe’s urine output had decreased, and the color was a dark orange. He received more Ativan and morphine as the day wore on, but no IV.

Day 4 (Thursday) in hospice: Joe seemed overmedicated and could not communicate. I was told he had been given more Ativan and morphine. My son left at 1:00 pm. The hospice doctor asked me if any more family/visitors were coming. I responded, “No.” At 5:30 pm, my sister and husband asked Joe (who was pretty much “out of it”) if we should go to dinner. He waved his hand “go.” At 8:30 pm, we received the call that Joe had passed away. We immediately went to see him. His body was cold. They said he had just passed at about 8 pm, but my husband, a physician for over 40 years, said it was longer than that.
I know my brother wanted a shot at fighting his cancer. This photograph was taken of Joe in the hospital emergency room where my husband and I took him for some rehydration and a GI consult on June 16, a week before he was brought back to the ER and two weeks and two days before he died. He doesn’t look like a person with two weeks left to live.
In a nutshell: No physical therapist was brought in; no IV fluids were administered; it was a struggle to get a nasal cannula; and there was no regard for what Joe wanted, nor for his “short-term goals.” All he got was lots and lots of Ativan and morphine – a planned and programmed death by euthanasia.

If I had known I could take Joe home, I would have. He had excellent insurance. I was told he wouldn’t make the trip. Well, he didn’t “make the trip” he was promised at hospice, either.

Movie Review: Euthanasia doctor: ‘I don’t call it killing’

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Euthanasia doctor: ‘I don’t call it killing’
– Added December 2020

This short documentary from BBC Stories follows a euthanasia doctor with his patients, offering insight into the pro-death mentality that has infiltrated the medical facilities of the western world. Doctor Yves de Locht practices euthanasia in Belgium, one of the most liberal countries on this deadly procedure. “I don’t call that killing a patient,” says Locht. “I shorten his agony, his suffering, I provide final care, but I don’t feel like I’m killing the patient.” Doctor Locht has euthanized more than 100 people. Eventually he started keeping a diary of his patient’s stories. In a moment of reflection, he admitted that he has to choose which patients to euthanize, and that he has had to say “no” to close friends or family members because it was too hard on him emotionally.

This film highlights several patients who asked for Doctor Locht’s “services.” One, referred to as Alain, was a man suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Another patient, Louise, was in perfect health. In crude language she explained her desire to go out on her own terms.

The film makers put the most focus on a third patient, Michel, who suffered from jaw cancer. According to his wife, he began his cancer treatment by saying, “I will struggle up to the end. I will do my best to be cured.” However, when the treatments failed to work, he gave up and contemplated suicide. Michel, talking directly to the camera, thanked Doctor Locht for allowing him a way to “die with dignity.”

As the film comes to a close, Doctor Locht is pictured leaving a hospital after euthanizing Michel. The doctor explained that it went “smoothly” while revealing that “it was a long night” and it “hit him” emotionally.

Euthanasia doctor: ‘I don’t call it killing’ is disturbing to watch, especially for a person with a life-affirming mindset. Many of the choices made in the film pervert the meaning of dignity by promoting the attitude that when a life is deemed “difficult,” it should be ended. But our human dignity comes from the terms set by our Creator, not the terms we choose for ourselves. A life well lived is one that is properly accepted as a gift and is lived bravely through the inevitable adversities we each will face. This is a message which medical professionals would be wise to heed. When Doctor Locht is called “home,” one hopes that his conscience will not have been completely euthanized and that he will have asked for God’s mercy before facing judgment.

Reviewed by Chris Rogers
Image: BBC Stories
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HALO MISSION STATEMENT


The mission of the Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization is to promote, protect, and advocate for the rights of the medically vulnerable through direct patient and family interactions; through community education and awareness programs; and through promotion and development of concrete *”life-affirming healthcare”* alternatives for those facing the grave consequences of healthcare rationing and unethical practices, especially those at risk of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
*”Life-affirming healthcare” is defined as medical care in which the paramount principle is the sanctity of life, which means that the life and safety of each person come first and each person receives medical care across their lifespan based on their need for care and never with an intention to hasten death, regardless of their abilities or perceived “quality of life.”

from the desk of the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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November 2020
By Anne O’Meara, Executive Director

Imagine this frightening scenario…

You are watching your grandchildren and find your 4-year old grandson lying face down in the backyard pool. You do CPR and he is rushed to the hospital. For the first couple of days, he breathes on his own. Then, he experiences brain swelling and is placed on a ventilator. Click here to read more.

EXECUTIVE ORDER PROTECTING VULNERABLE NEWBORNS

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November 2020

On September 25, 2020, President Donald J. Trump issued the Executive Order on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children. We encourage everyone to read this life-affirming Executive Order and share it with anyone facing denial of wanted treatment for their premature or disabled infant. The order’s full text is available for download here.

Section 1, after citing several relevant federal statutes, in part declares,

Together, these laws help protect infants born alive from discrimination in the provision of medical treatment, including infants who require emergency medical treatment, who are premature, or who are born with disabilities. Such infants are entitled to meaningful and non-discriminatory access to medical examination and services, with the consent of a parent or guardian, when they present at hospitals receiving Federal funds.

Despite these laws, some hospitals refuse the required medical screening examination and stabilizing treatment or otherwise do not provide potentially lifesaving medical treatment to extremely premature or disabled infants, even when parents plead for such treatment.

Section 2 states,

It is the policy of the United States to recognize the human dignity and inherent worth of every newborn or other infant child, regardless of prematurity or disability, and to ensure for each child due protection under the law.

And Section 3 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to “ensure that individuals responsible for all programs and activities under his jurisdiction that receive Federal funding are aware of their obligations toward infants …” and to enforce this executive order.

HALO asked Mary Kellett, the president and founder of Prenatal Partners for Life (prenatalpartnersforlife.org), for her opinion regarding this Executive Order. She responded:

I think the order is a good thing. I especially like that it requires all federally funded hospitals to offer medical interventions for severely premature infants – including those “born alive before 24 weeks of gestation” – and to offer non-discriminatory access to medical care for newborns with severe disabilities.

Hospitals that have offered care to extreme preemies have seen good results, with many surviving. Families often face pressure not to treat when their children could be helped. This order hopefully will alleviate some of that pressure. Families can always refuse treatment, but this, again hopefully, will ensure it is at least offered. Right now, basic care that would be routinely done for other children is often denied to children who are severely premature or disabled.

If a baby is actively dying, then comfort care is appropriate. Many times, that is not the case in kids like Peter. [Mary’s son Peter had Trisomy 18.] He would have died if they would have wrapped him up in a blanket and we would have just held him [as Peter’s doctors advised Mary to do]. He needed extra help in the beginning like many babies with these conditions. I hope this order will help the babies get the care they need to reach their full potential. *

*Read “Lies Have No Place in Medicine” by Mary Kellett in the January 2020 edition of the HALO Herald.

PERINATAL PALLIATIVE CARE

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By Julie Grimstad, Board President

November 2020

When preborn babies are diagnosed with serious disabling and sometimes life-threatening conditions, parents routinely are pressured to choose abortion. When they refuse to have their babies killed, perinatal (perinatal means around the time of birth) palliative care may be offered to them. This specialized support is also available for children with disorders that are not detected until after birth. Perinatal palliative care (a.k.a. perinatal hospice) is provided from the time of diagnosis through the baby’s birth and death. Perinatal palliative care is akin to hospice services provided to older patients and their families.

An idealistic picture

The professed goal of the specialty called Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) is to relieve symptoms—including pain and stress. Palliative care can be initiated at any stage in a serious illness and provided in conjunction with curative or life-prolonging treatment. Hospice care is a subset of palliative care. Hospice is focused on providing comfort care when a patient no longer has curative options or has chosen to forgo treatment because the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits.

When palliative care is provided by medical professionals who genuinely respect and protect the life of every person committed to their care, it can be a blessing that improves the quality of life for both the patient and the family. Unfortunately, not all HPM providers believe that every human life has equal worth.

Organizations that promote hospice present an idealistic picture of compassionate “end-of-life” care, but the realistic picture is that palliative care often is a pathway to imposed (intentionally caused) death for vulnerable patients who cannot protect themselves. [1] Therefore, when a loved one is receiving palliative care, families must be vigilant, and that includes families of newborns with serious but not necessarily fatal conditions.

The pros and cons of perinatal palliative care

The website Perinatal Hospice & Palliative Care states, “Perinatal palliative care helps parents embrace whatever life their baby might be able to have, before and after birth.” [2] Providing comfort care is compassionate and appropriate when a baby is close to death and there is no way to preserve their life. But, what if medical treatment might extend or save a baby’s life?

Families are not always told the whole truth, which may lead them to choose death for their sick or disabled child. Mary Kellett, the president and founder of Prenatal Partners for Life, explains, “Predicting the future in only a negative light is a common experience for families who receive a diagnosis. Families are told all the things their child will never do. Families are sometimes made to feel guilty for wanting to embrace the life of their child and help their child reach their full potential.” [3]

Sometimes, families are told their child’s condition is “incompatible with life” when timely and appropriate medical treatment could save their baby’s life. When parents then accept the offer of perinatal hospice, it is a death sentence for their baby. Perinatal hospice provides comfort care, which means pain medication and sedation, but no life-support or life-saving treatment. Although perinatal hospice providers will deny it, they often hasten their little patients’ deaths.

Sara Buscher, Esq., a member of HALO’s Advisory Board, provides evidence to support this assertion.

Remember when Governor Ralph Northam said a baby born alive after an abortion would be kept comfortable. Then, the doctor would discuss withholding life-sustaining treatment (i.e. food and liquids) from the baby with its parents. Recall the outrage? Everyone recognized this was infanticide. Well, Governor Northam is a pediatrician who spent 19 years as a children’s’ hospice medical director.

Judie Brown, the president of American Life League and another member of HALO’s Advisory Board, sums up the situation.

And so once again society is left with two choices.

Shall we choose to listen to those who believe that imposed death is best or those who respect the vulnerable life of someone who may well die, but only in God’s time without outside interference.

Respect for life does not embrace exceptions.


[1] “Palliative Care: A Pathway to Imposed Death,” by Ioana Caranica and Julie Grimstad, Celebrate Life Magazine, Winter 2020.
[2] https://www.perinatalhospice.org/list-of-programs
[3] “Lies Have No Place in Medicine,” by Mary Kellett, HALO Herald, January 21, 2020, https://newsletter.halovoice.org/2020/01/lies-have-no-place-in-medicine