Some Hospice Care Providers Enforcing State-Sanctioned Euthanasia Through IL Probate Courts

EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2008, RFFM.org ran a series of columns dealing with end of life issues, including the dangers presented by living wills and information regarding how some hospice care providers are hastening deaths of the elderly. RFFM.org has received numerous firsthand accounts which confirm the information offered in the series and the following letter to RFFM.org illustrates how the state may be complicit in the euthanasia of the aged with the assistance of Illinois courts. This situation may also be occurring outside of Illinois as well. It is a must read for senior citizens, their families and loved ones. It also points out every American should be vigilant of an anti-life agenda which is being advanced, for the most part, without the public's knowledge. The letter below is not a piece of literary perfection, but it is an articulate description of what is happening, all to often, across the state of Illinois and possibly our nation.

My Dad just passed away while under hospice care. I believe they killed him. After leaving the hospital to go into a nursing home--because the hospital said he was not ready for hospice--he was very alert and had a strong drive for life. He'd whisper to me about others that were dying when, in fact, my siblings had planned an end to his life. My Dad refused physical therapy and was then put into hospice. Since I spent a lot of time with him--and not the usual 45 minutes once a week as my siblings would do--I know that if he was tired from a poor night's sleep (up to urinate a lot) then therapy and food intake would be affected, as it would be with any of us. My brother and my sister were his proxy and acting as his proxy before he was declared incapable of taking care of his own affairs. He tried to contact his lawyer to be his own proxy and in a meeting at the nursing home he said he wanted to be his own proxy, but it was too late, they already decided to end his life. Again, ignoring his wishes when, in fact, they were not legally his proxy at that time.

I was constantly threatened by my siblings as I tried to help my Dad speak for himself, i.e., be at his own meeting, to which they had another meeting immediately after the one he was at, in order to arrange his death. My Dad was an inconvenience to my siblings--their time share properties, their retirement days, etc. and the money from his will would become less for them to have if he went on living with the nursing home costs. My Dad had COPD and was on oxygen, but he was in no pain. He was in a wheelchair, but wanted to keep using his legs to maneuver himself and he wanted to go to the bathroom himself, get himself into bed, dress himself, etc. but he was told they'd bring in the police--if he kept trying to do these things for himself. He became very intimidated, having to wait 20 minutes or more to go to the bathroom and would sometimes mess his pants while waiting for an attendant and be embarrassed. He'd tell me how he had to wait to go to bed, one night from 7:50 until 9:40 to get into bed. He was nervous that, if my visits were long, they'd make him wait even longer for his needs to be met and he would draw further ire from those in the hospice care facility. My Dad was taking eight pills or more, all at once, no throat closing up (as they said it would), in order to justify the need to prescribe him morphine. One Monday, I was going to take him to his favorite place to eat and I was told I could not take him, although my siblings were not yet declared his proxy--one week later, my Dad is dead.

I consistently found his oxygen would be on 0 or not hooked up after a nebulizer treatment, and he would then be without oxygen for hours before my discovery. I found the nebulizer cartridge filled on the floor near his bed. With these constant errors, I wonder what else was done to him which hastened his death. I was not allowed to see his medication, and then they were taken away and he was sedated to sleep and morphine was administered--when, in fact, he explicitly told the staff he did not want no morphine. I wish I had pursued an autopsy to verify my Dad died from a morphine overdose, but feeling threatened just by visiting him, made me fear to pursue what was the right thing to do--when wrong had been done.

The following The following series of columns related to end of life issues were posted on RFFM.org and written by Bill Beckman, Executive Director, Illinois Right to Life Committee http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org

Stephen Bloom, a Christian Attorney at Law and an expert on living wills http://www.istherealawyerinthechurch.com/ and

Part I The Myth Of Living Wills: You Are Actually Signing Your Life Away by Bill Beckman posted August 11, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/the-myth-of-living-wills.html

Part II How a Living Will can bring about your premature death by Bill Beckman posted on August 12, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/how-a-living-will-can-bring-about-your-premature-death.html

Part III Futile Care--Knowing What It Is May Save Your Life Or The Life Of A Loved One by Bill Beckman posted August 13, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/part-iii-futile-care--knowing-what-it-is-may-save-your-life-or-the-life-of-a-loved-one.html

Part IV Research on "brain dead" and "almost dead" patients declared "ethical" by Bill Beckman posted August 14, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/part-iv-research-on-brain-dead-and-almost-dead-patients-declared-ethical.html

Part V Choose Hospice Care Provider Carefully: Using Hospice Care To Hasten Death Declared "Ethical" by Bill Beckman posted August 15, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/part-v-choose-hospice-care-provider-carefully-using-hospice-care-to-hasten-death-declared-ethical.html

Part VI Some Hospice Care Providers Hasten Death Through Use Of Morphine Overdoses + Other Means? by Bill Beckman posted on August 16, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/part-vi-some-hospice-care-providers-hasten-death.html

Part VII Culture Of Death Taking Toll On Those Nearing Life's End: Overview -- by Daniel T. Zanoza posted on August 17, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/part-vii-culture-of-death-taking-toll-on-those-nearing-lifes-end.html

"Living Will" Becomes a License to Kill: The Horror Goes On In 2008 by Bill Beckman posted on August 18, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/living-will-becomes-a-license-to-kill.html

Living Wills: Signing Your Own Death Warrant? A Christian Lawyer’s Perspective by Stephen Bloom posted on August 19, 2008 at http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/08/living-wills-signing-your-own-death-warrant-a-christian-lawyers-perspective.html

If companies, nurses, etc are doing that to patients then you are right, it is disgusting. I’ve never seen that in my practice. The patients comfort is the absolute top priority!

“Some people are quite surprised to find out we took care of her for so many years, yet she didn’t have a penny to her name.”

You are my hero. God bless you for your sacrificial love. He took note of every single act you did for your mom.

I must respectfully disagree with your post but only because working in hospice I know that the individual patient never gives up their right to determine there healthcare/treatment.In fact, many patients on hospice do not sign a DNR waiver and are a full code nor do they have to sign one.I’ve. Admitted patients to hospice and then 3 days later they decide they do want to try chemo, etc. and they have every right to do so. I would never be involved with forcing a patient to do anything they didn’t want to do.

The agreements I’m familiar with from Michigan do just that. I had quite an in-depth discussion with a hospice nurse when discussing my dad entering hospice. My mother chose not to go with hospice for this very reason.

NJ has the same rule. When you sign up for hospice care, you agree not to seek treatment from anyone other than hospice, and you agree to receive only comfort care from hospice. A prognosis of death within six months is a requirement, along with your agreement not to try to improve your odds.

Hospice is “end of life” care. That's all it is. If you are not at the end of life, then you should not be on hospice services. Saying that they are booted off is disingenuous. They are not denied medical care, only hospice services. They can still have home health, go to their Dr. Etc. Having them on services when they are not dying is fraud. Its no different than an individual lying about their income status to get food stamps. That is fraud. For a hospice company to have a patient who is not terminal ( reasonably 6 months or less) is committing fraud and can be fined and put out business. Nurses involved in that fraud can lose their license.

Your analogy is all wrong. It’s not the same as having an income while receiving food stamps. It’s the same as applying for a job while on food stamps. Do you think people should be kicked off the food stamp program for applying for a job? If not, then why should terminally ill people be kicked out of hospice for grasping at the remote hope of recovery?

For a hospice company to have a patient who is not terminal ( reasonably 6 months or less) is committing fraud and can be fined and put out business.

No one is saying otherwise. The problem is that patients are not permitted to seek treatment for the terminal condition. They are required to agree, in writing, to give up any hope of recovery. They're denied comfort care unless they give up the fight. That is wrong. That is so wrong.

I practiced in Mississippi so I can’t really speak for Michigan. It is also possible the nurse wasn’t sure what she was talking about. I certainly hope Michigan is not like that. Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that Terri Shiavo was on hospice. Actually from what I read about her condition, she shouldn’t have been because she was not dying. But it is also why removing her feeding tube and starving her to death was murder in my opinion.

You’re right about the fact that they have a choice to sign up for hospice or not. They are not forced to do so nor are they forced to stay on hospice. They are not denied comfort care if they choose to seek treatment for their illness. They can and do still receive comfort meds, etc through their physician. They just can’t be on hospice. I’m sorry I must not be doing a very good job explaining this.

Is hospice for patients who are terminal, or patients who agree to die? There is a difference. If a terminal patient signs papers agreeing to follow a course of treatment aimed at guaranteeing their death within six months, then they qualify for hospice. If the same patient, with the same terminal condition attempts to live, they don’t qualify for hospice. They will almost certainly die within six months despite their desperate attempt at benefiting from treatment, but they will die without hospice care because they refused to give up.

How about if instead of making them sign an agreement to cooperate with death, you let them stay in hospice as long as they’re terminal, and only boot them out of hospice when and if they are no longer terminal? Is that too much to ask?

My goodness! If you think that hospice is signing up to agree to die or to follow a treament that results in your death,then you must have had a horrific experience with hospice and I am so sorry. Hospice is nothing like you have described. Again, I am sorry you feel this way about hospice care. I can tell you that as a conservative christian I would never be involved with.anything you have described.

Does that mean that a terminal patient is allowed to get treatment for their terminal condition while receiving hospice care? Make up your mind. In some posts you claim they are, and in other posts you claim they aren’t. Either they are, or they aren’t. You can’t have it both ways.

I have really tried my best to explain this to you. You have you’re mind about hospice and obviously no one is going to change. I said that the symptoms are treated, maybe you could go back and read my posts again because I don’t wish to repeat myself. Hospice is palliative care, not curative. If you want curative, don’t get on hospice. If you want palliative, then you go with hospice. I’m sorry I can’t explain it any better than that. Although I do think you are unwilling to accept/believe anything I’m saying.

Hospice provides types of care that are simply not available to most people anywhere else. The myth is that its availability is based on the patient being terminal. Then why isn’t it available to terminally ill patients who are still getting treatment for their terminal disease? Why must the patient agree to give up trying to live?

Maybe I’m the one that’s not being clear. I don’t mean to suggest that hospice should provide chemo or other curative treatments. I just don’t think they should deny services to people who seek curative treatment while they’re dying. Knowing that you’re dying doesn’t necessarily mean that you want to die. I don’t think we should be denying comfort care to people who are dying, on the basis of whether or not they’re cooperating in their own demise. I think we should be allowed to fight against death without risking the comfort care we need. Hospice care should be provided to people who are dying, even if they don’t want to be dying. Even if they actively seek alternatives to dying. If they succeed in cheating death, then take them off hospice, because then they don’t need it. But if they fight against death, and they’re losing the battle, but still refuse to stop fighting, don’t deny them the care they need. I understand hospice is supposed to be palliative care for dying people, and they don’t provide curative treatments. That is not the issue.

Awww, thanks.

Whenever mom acted embarrassed because of the things I had to do for her, I always reminded her she was doing me a favor by allowing me to earn jewels for my heavenly crown. That always made her smile.

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