Ex-Nurse Says He Killed 30-40 Patients

[eyelikeart]

There's going to be several arguments surfacing from this. I don't agree with the way he took it upon himself to do this, but I do support euthanasia with the terminally ill.

Still, it's nuts. It makes u want to know how often this happens? What things don't we know that are going on in our hospitals & among our doctor's offices?

story here

 

[arn]

Re: Ex-Nurse Says He Killed 30-40 Patients

Originally posted by eyelikeart
There's going to be several arguments surfacing from this. I don't agree with the way he took it upon himself to do this, but I do support euthanasia with the terminally ill.

I'm guessing the patients weren't willing participants?

From the article, it appears not.

arn

 

[gwuMACaddict]

Re: Re: Ex-Nurse Says He Killed 30-40 Patients

Originally posted by arn
I'm guessing the patients weren't willing participants?

From the article, it appears not.

arn

THATS what makes it even MORE bizzare... i think in the other cases the patients were willing

 

[eyelikeart]

It's more like an excuse to kill, than an act of humanity. It's really disturbing.

 

[mactastic]

Youth in Asia is one thing, but this isn't mercy killing, this is murder. It's not his decision to make, it's the patients if it's anyones.

 

[rainman::|:|]

angels-of-mercy are interesting serial killers. there have been some odd ones. www.crimelibrary.com

i do, of course, fully support the right of a person to die if they wish it.

this guy sounds a bit wack? like, how did he not show any symptoms of this? it doesn't sound like he'd go out of his way to hide it.

paul

 

[wdlove]

It is very sad when something like this happens. We had a female nurse doing that at a VA hospital here in Massachusetts. It turned out she was try to impress a security guard. A person doing this craves the power that it offers them.

A decision to end the life of a terminally ill patient should be made in private. It is between the doctor, patient, and family.

 

[Gymnut]

There is also the question of active or passive euthanasia. By merely pulling the plug and allowing what would have already occured had not the marvel of medical science prevented or by administering a foreign substance to bring upon death.

 

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by wdlove
It is very sad when something like this happens. We had a female nurse doing that at a VA hospital here in Massachusetts. It turned out she was try to impress a security guard. A person doing this craves the power that it offers them.

A decision to end the life of a terminally ill patient should be made in private. It is between the doctor, patient, and family.

I'm not sure if I'm even comfortable letting a person's family decide in most circumstances when a person is, say, not in full mental capacity. Although most of the time, the family would have the person's best interests in mind, it is still not their life to live (or not live), and I think the decision lies solely in the patient's hand with advice/feedback from the doctor and family/friends. That's why I think that patients' making their wishes known while they still hold their full faculties is important.

 

[Giaguara]

what about the simple people who are killed to sell their organs? someone needs a heart, lungs, retina, kidneys .. kids get kidnapped for that in the 3rd world countries (i don't know how much they pay for a kid as "spare parts", the value of a white kid in the adoption black markets ten years ago was around 25,000 $ and up) .. i don't trust doctors on this either. not in civilized coutnries either.

i wont qualify for an organ donor, but i still want to carry something in my wallet that says i am NOT willing to donate any part of my body when i die.

i'm not that scared of mad doctors or nurses killing me just for fun... or for euthanasy. when i want to die, i'll ask for it. i can't stand anyone ELSE making a decision like that for me .. or for anyone else.

 

[Gymnut]

Originally posted by Giaguara
what about the simple people who are killed to sell their organs? someone needs a heart, lungs, retina, kidneys .. kids get kidnapped for that in the 3rd world countries (i don't know how much they pay for a kid as "spare parts", the value of a white kid in the adoption black markets ten years ago was around 25,000 $ and up) .. i don't trust doctors on this either. not in civilized coutnries either.

i wont qualify for an organ donor, but i still want to carry something in my wallet that says i am NOT willing to donate any part of my body when i die.

i'm not that scared of mad doctors or nurses killing me just for fun... or for euthanasy. when i want to die, i'll ask for it. i can't stand anyone ELSE making a decision like that for me .. or for anyone else.

Well take for example, a friend of mine was critically injured in a motorcycle accident. He suffered severed head injuries as a result and was given only a 7% chance of surviving. He under went a risky surgery in hopes of raising that percentage but to no avail. His father, fearing his son would not survive, signed the papers for doctors to take him off life support. We were allowed to say our goodbyes but certain circumstances do not permit you to decide whether you want to live or die. God forbid I suffer serious brain damage and can no longer function or think for myself, I would hope my family would do the right thing. I know there are miracle stories every year about people waking up after spending 10 years in a coma. Certainly one should never give up hope but I would hate to strain my family with the incurring medical costs not to mention the emotional hurt by seeing me reduced to such a state. I can see your point as it is a gray area to allow family members determine your fate when you're incapacitated. Always a difficult debate because there is no clear cut answer.

 

[topicolo]

Originally posted by mactastic
Youth in Asia is one thing, but this isn't mercy killing, this is murder. It's not his decision to make, it's the patients if it's anyones.

Just to let you know, it's euthanasia, not Youth in Asia. hehe

 

[phrancpharmD]

Originally posted by themadchemist
I think that patients' making their wishes known while they still hold their full faculties is important.

In principle, yes, but in practice. . .

Do YOU have a living will? I'm 29, married, and have a baby, and DON'T have a living will. But I have seen so many cases like the one Gymnut described where something devastating happened to a patient previously "competent" who had no legal documentation of his wishes and had not discussed his wishes with his family. Like I said, I don't have a living will, but have made it perfectly clear to my wife, parents, and brothers what my wishes are should something horrible happen, God forbid.

And getting back to the main topic of the thread, I think that terminally ill individuals absolutely should have the right to decide under certain circumstances that it is time for them to go, but that decision should not be made FOR them autonomously by any healthcare provider - it is the patient's / patient's family's decision ONLY. Heck, abortion is legal, right? You can make a pretty strong LEGAL argument for euthanasia just based on that fact alone (I am NOT advocating we discuss the moral issues surrounding abortion at this time though). . .

 

[mactastic]

Originally posted by topicolo
Just to let you know, it's euthanasia, not Youth in Asia. hehe

I'm aware of that. It was just my attempt at being punny.

On topic though, I had a friend who also managed to scramble his brains in a motorcycle accident. He has very little cognitive function, and was very near death in the hospital at the time. His mother could not let go however, and he has been in her care for almost 15 years now. He hasn't improved much, other than being able to move his fingers a little, but even that is done without any cognition on his part. He should have been let go at the time, but due to his lack of any written statement, the fact that he was just short of being 18 at the time, and his mother's inability to lose her only son he has been kept alive for a long time with zero quality of life. I know he would rather be dead, but I can't do anything about it.