In the wake of Terri Shiavo's death, I came across a story that added fuel to the flame of how I was feeling about quality of life.
It appears that in Japan, that neglecting children medical treatment is now a form of child abuse. So, if you have a child that suffers from diseases including chromosomal anomalies, as in Downs syndrome, neurological diseases, heart diseases and perinatal brain damage and you refuse treatment to that child, you are committing an abuse and could be punished accordingly. The piece goes on to say that at one particular hospital, 24 of 60 parents refused care because they were worried about their child's future and 13 demanded alternative care and that those parents could be considered abusers for refusing treatment.
I don't know about you, but I don't think that doctor's or the government should be making decisions like this unless it is based on truly abusive behaviour. While I sympathize with the children, if I were to have a really sick child that I might not be able to provide for after my death, I would want to have the right to decline treatment if I believed that child would not have anyone to care for them when I was no longer alive. I would terminate a pregnancy if I were carrying a child that was determined to have such diseases. Why tax the medical system with surgeries and medical treatments that would prolong a life that had little or no quality to it? And I certainly think that I would be qualified to make that decision in an informed manner and decide that I don't want the state or others be responsible for looking after MY child.
Sometimes, I don't know where human society is going. We pollute and overpopulate the planet in the name of living. We are keeping brain-dead and terminally ill folks alive when they would be better off dying.
Please do not think me cruel. I have seen the effects of a terminally ill people in that a cousin had ALS and she lived and lived and lived on life-saving equipment for a long time. Her husband couldn't bear to make the decision to keep her off the support systems saying that he didn't have the right to decide. She was alive but could not feed herself, go to the bathroom or even move and when she finally died while he was guiding her around in the chair and she just turned greyish and was dead. I found this man's dedication quite admirable however he wouldn't get on with his life even though he knew that she could never be cured. She lived 15 years like that and I know that when she was well, she was a vibrant wonderful being. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be trapped in a body like that, having a mind at the beginning but then that brain couldn't sustain the body and was kept alive by machines. It must have been horrible for her. If it were me, I wouldn't want to be kept alive.
Anyway, I wonder what kind of life that these sick children would have when their parents were not around. And I don't think that I should be considered abusive if I believe that if death is meant to be, it will.
What do you think?
It appears that in Japan, that neglecting children medical treatment is now a form of child abuse. So, if you have a child that suffers from diseases including chromosomal anomalies, as in Downs syndrome, neurological diseases, heart diseases and perinatal brain damage and you refuse treatment to that child, you are committing an abuse and could be punished accordingly. The piece goes on to say that at one particular hospital, 24 of 60 parents refused care because they were worried about their child's future and 13 demanded alternative care and that those parents could be considered abusers for refusing treatment.
I don't know about you, but I don't think that doctor's or the government should be making decisions like this unless it is based on truly abusive behaviour. While I sympathize with the children, if I were to have a really sick child that I might not be able to provide for after my death, I would want to have the right to decline treatment if I believed that child would not have anyone to care for them when I was no longer alive. I would terminate a pregnancy if I were carrying a child that was determined to have such diseases. Why tax the medical system with surgeries and medical treatments that would prolong a life that had little or no quality to it? And I certainly think that I would be qualified to make that decision in an informed manner and decide that I don't want the state or others be responsible for looking after MY child.
Sometimes, I don't know where human society is going. We pollute and overpopulate the planet in the name of living. We are keeping brain-dead and terminally ill folks alive when they would be better off dying.
Please do not think me cruel. I have seen the effects of a terminally ill people in that a cousin had ALS and she lived and lived and lived on life-saving equipment for a long time. Her husband couldn't bear to make the decision to keep her off the support systems saying that he didn't have the right to decide. She was alive but could not feed herself, go to the bathroom or even move and when she finally died while he was guiding her around in the chair and she just turned greyish and was dead. I found this man's dedication quite admirable however he wouldn't get on with his life even though he knew that she could never be cured. She lived 15 years like that and I know that when she was well, she was a vibrant wonderful being. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be trapped in a body like that, having a mind at the beginning but then that brain couldn't sustain the body and was kept alive by machines. It must have been horrible for her. If it were me, I wouldn't want to be kept alive.
Anyway, I wonder what kind of life that these sick children would have when their parents were not around. And I don't think that I should be considered abusive if I believe that if death is meant to be, it will.
What do you think?
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