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As I wrote elsewhere, a friend's father was recently hospitalized with a heart attack and hooked up to machines. The attending doctor didn't think the old man would make it. My friend, respecting Dad's wishes to not be on machines, signed a paper approving the de-machining and putting the Dad on "comfort care" which (IN GENERAL) is basically no curative care. That was ok - that was the Dad's wishes.

The old man pulled through, but the hospital refused to put Dad back on fluids or nutrition because - you guessed it - "comfort care" IN THAT HOSPITAL and for THAT DOCTOR is effectively Terri Schaivo-style starvation and dehydration.

They said, food and water was a medical treatment and thus "curative" and AGAINST the rules of "comfort care."

My friend was stunned. And the attending and her team wouldn't budge. For the next few days, my friend and siblings heard from scores of nurses etc that withholding fluids was effectively "the right thing to do"....very Terri Schaivo-like.

It took a virtual miracle whereby a different doctor intervened, said the father clearly wasn't terminal, and put the old man back on nutrition and fluids. While my friend's Dad passed away peacefully in his sleep a few weeks later, it was on his terms.

Euthanasia is, technically, illegal. And I know many people would be OK if fluids were withheld when it is THEIR time to go. Fair enough.

But euthanasia can be made legal if you're not careful with Fine Print or discernment process around the "mercy killing" mindset of the attending.