June 3, 2004
NO HURRY:
Dutch doctors see reasons for euthanasia waning (Reuters, 5/29/04)
Dutch doctors no longer see a medical need for euthanasia due to improvements in palliative care and medical advances in pain relief, a survey shows.Doctors in the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal, increasingly see sedation as the best way to end a terminally ill patient's suffering, Bernardus Crul, Nijmegen University pain control professor said.
Crul is conducting a survey of 1,500 doctors on terminal sedation, inducing an unconscious state in a terminal patient.
Crul told the Dutch Evangelical Broadcasting Network better care for the dying in the Netherlands and advances in pain control had undermined the medical case for euthanasia.
"Most doctors no longer see euthanasia as a medical necessity for fighting unbearable suffering and that the solution of terminal sedation is suitable for that," he said in an interview due for broadcast later on Saturday.
German Doctors Say They Create New Stem-Cell Method (Reuters, 5/28/04)
German scientists said Friday they had developed a "pioneering" method of extracting stem cells from the human body that could render obsolete the controversial practice of harvesting the cells from embryos.
With a little bit of patience it turns out not to be necessary to create a culture of death in order to get the benefits of technology. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 3, 2004 8:09 AM
Orrin:
It's not that creating a culture of death was necessary to get the benefits of technology, it's that the purported benefits of technology were used as a marketing tool for the culture of death.
Posted by: Mike Morley at June 3, 2004 11:29 AMAnd said culture of death can become self-sustaining, in the face of all advances or evidence. Just BEE-LEEEEEVE!
Think of Islamic Fascism and the Future Caliphate; Scientific Creationism and the Rapture Scare of the Week; or "Apple Will Drive Microsoft Into Bankruptcy by Y2K! Apple Akbar! Apple Akbar! Apple Akbar!"
Posted by: Ken at June 3, 2004 12:19 PMFeh. Over THIRTY years ago, I was in Tucson when the first terminal hospice, Hillhaven, was established. They knew, back then, exactly how to dose people so they could still be aware and interact coherently, while being free from pain. So it's nice to see Dutch doctors are HALFWAY to where hick doctors in Arizona have been for three decades. This is an EXPLICITLY CHRISTIAN institution, dedicated to making the final days of a human being dignified and comfortable, KEN. There are some things you'll be UNABLE to do, because you haven't got the foggiest idea of the mindset required.
Oh, and as for Adult stem cells? *YAWN* I've got a stack of year-old National Right to Life Newsletters sitting next to the home computer with numerous articles detailing the REVIEWED AND PUBLISHED medical reports detailing the successes and advantages of using Adult Stem cells over fetal stem cells. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?