Three charged in post-Katrina hospital deaths

cnn.com ^ | 07/18/06 | CNN

[jch10]

I am sorry to hear this. I'm sure they did what they thought was best for all at the time. No way they are "murderers,"

[wideawake]

They sure are murderers, and I hope they die in prison.

[Mr. Lucky]

Did they intentionally take the life of a human being other than in self defense?

[brwnsuga]

"First do no harm" isn't that the most important part of the Hippocratic Oath. They committed murder, no matter what their intentions were. Who were they to say who should live and who should die?

[ClearCase_guy]

I'm sure they did what they thought was best for all at the time.

Scary words.

[Rte66]

The fog of war

[twigs]

Since when is killing those in your protection the "best" for all? The best for who? The doctor and nurses? Convict them and throw away the key!

[Conservababe]

Yea, they should have just let them die a painful and lingering death in the crisis.

[Warren_Piece]

Plus, their actions look downright cowardly when compared to the efforts undertaken at Mercy and Tulane hospitals.

That being said, perhaps manslaughter is a better charge here? It appears to me the decision(s) were made in the midst of a panic.

[johniegrad]

According to King, the doctor said that the administrator suggested patients be put "out of their misery." King said when he objected this physician acknowledged his concerns but said that "this other (third) doctor said she'd be willing to do it."

I'm not going to pile on here because I think you made your statement sincerely. However, contrast this with the earlier article posted on FreeRepublic in which the AMA recommended that physicians not even be involved in the execution of criminals slated for the death penalty. There is no role for a physician in mercy killings. I post this to you as a physician.

[toddlintown]

"I'm sure they did what they thought was best for all at the time."

No they didn't. They're murderers.

[satchmodog9]

Indeed.

[AmericaUnite]

Scary. I'm sure we are going to hear what it was like as the water filled the floors of the hospital. The immobile patients surviving on mechanical ventilation of various weights attached to IVs with medication to keep their blood pressure from falling.

I would never want to face that. Remember the movie Pearl Harbor when they ran out of Morphine to give the dying. It's all very frightening. They certainly should have given these people medication to ease any pain but not kill.

I remember hearing the story that in a Nazi concentration camp the doctor experimenter Mengela had bound the breasts of nursing mothers to see the infants die of starvation.
There was a doctor in the group who had hidden Morphine and gave it to the baby so the baby would die a peaceful death.

Horrible stories.

[Conservababe]

Mr Physician, how many orders for terminally ill patients have you given knowing that they might cause premature death?

[AmericaUnite]

Tulane hired a private helicopter company to get the people out.

[johniegrad]

None.

[Conservababe]

Then you must deny pain meds to your terminally ill patients that cause respiratory depression.

[Warren_Piece]

Yep - the story of the evacuation of Tulane could be made into a movie. When it was obvious the government wasn't going to be of much immediate help, the administration went to extraordinary lengths to get those patients out, with incredible speed. It was a logistical nightmare - they hired every helicopter within a hundred miles, including some old retired Russian helicopters. There was no air traffic control, no phone service, no cell service even - so they brought in ham radio operators from all around the southeast to help coordinate the evac. They were so efficient, they were then able to complete the evac of Mercy, even though there was no legal obligation to do so.

It's quite a story.