Argentina: More Patient Rights At The End Of Life

The article title is somewhat confusing. What the Argentinians have done is make clear in law patient’s rights at the end of life.

Argentine Senate approves 'dignified death' law

Argentina's senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a "dignified death" law giving terminally ill patients and their families more power to make end-of-life decisions.

The law passed by a vote of 55 to zero, with 17 senators declaring themselves absent. It passed the lower house last year.

Now Argentine families won't have to struggle to find judges to order doctors to end life-support for people who are dying or in a permanent vegetative state. Getting such approval can be very difficult in many countries, particularly in Latin America, where opposition from the Roman Catholic church still runs strong. more

Doctors: Patients' Wishes Be Damned - Die!!

Well, a little macabre chuckle here – are there still people who think that doctors respect patients' wishes when it comes to doing everything to keep them alive? Of course, if they want to kick the bucket, then patients’ rights are to be respected. However, if their wish is to stay alive – the heck with them – issue “do not resuscitate “ orders anyway. Patients be damned. Welcome to the world of Doctor Power.

Doctors 'must consult' about resuscitation orders

When doctors believe a patient is too sick to be resuscitated, they must consult with relatives, the head of the Bioethics Centre says.

The comments come after the Manawatu Standard revealed yesterday that an 85-year-old woman, Juanita Wallace, had a `not for resuscitation' order placed on her file at Palmerston North Hospital against her wishes – and without discussion with her son.

MidCentral Health has launched an investigation into the case and a spokesman said the DHB was unable to comment until it had been completed.

However, Dunedin Medical School Professor of Medical Ethics Grant Gillett said doctors could only issue a not for resuscitation order without consulting the patient or family if the patient couldn't communicate and relatives couldn't be contacted. more