Posted on 08/11/2006 4:27:01 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Palliative care personnel in Belgium are complaining that a changeover in the pharmaceutical market has rendered them unable to euthanize their patients, Expatica reported on Wednesday.
The problem occurred after the U.S. manufacturers of Pentothal, the “euthanasia drug,” transferred their license to another firm. Since then the flow of the drug into Belgium has stopped. According to The Brussels Journal a change-over in the method of packaging the drug is the cause of the sudden lack of supply.
Palliative care workers are deeply concerned about the dearth of Pentothal. Without the drug they say it is impossible to comfortably kill the on-average 30 patients a month who are officially euthanized in Belgium, as well as the speculated much larger number of patients whose deaths by euthanasia go unregistered as such.
“Our supply [of Pentothal] is completely finished,” said Marc Cornely, a spokesman for a large chain of Belgium pharmacies.
“We have been without [Pentothal] for weeks now,” complained professor Wim Distelmans, a palliative care professor at the VUB. “The intention of euthanasia is to bring the patient into an in an irreversible coma in an elegant and reliable manner. Pentothal is the only drug which can do this.”
The new producer of the drug, Hospira, however, has said that the shortage could soon come to an end, as they have a stockpile of 4,000 bottles of Pentothal which could be pumped into the market once the proper paperwork is filed. Initially it was feared that it could be as long as three months before Belgium’s palliative care givers were able to kill their patients, but with Hospira’s emergency plan that time could be cut down to several weeks.
Alex Schadenberg the executive director of Canada’s euthanasia prevention coalition, pointed out the dark irony of the earnest concern of Belgium’s palliative care and pharmaceutical agencies.
“This proves how the dignity of the person has been lost in Belgium,” he said. “When it is considered a medical emergency that they do not have the necessary drug to kill people. People don't need to be killed they need to receive excellent end of life care. They then die with true dignity, being cared for with proper pain and symptom management with care to the persons physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs.
“Euthanasia is not a medical act and should not be administered within the framework of palliative care within Belgium.”
Read the original source article in post #25. I thought the same as you at first, that's why I checked out the Expatica site referred to in the article.
I hardly think "Expatica" a news source for Belgian Expatriots is a prolife biased source.
From http://www.hospiceinformation.info/whatishospice/definition.asp
Palliative care for adults:
* provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
* affirms life and regards dying as a normal process
* intends neither to hasten or postpone death
* integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
* offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
* offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their own bereavement
* uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counselling, if indicated;
* will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of an illness
* is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications
provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms I suppose a lethal dose of sodium pentathol provides "relief" from pain.
affirms life and regards dying as a normal process So let's get on with "Normal", and have some Pentathol.
Intends neither to hasten or postpone death The actual result is unimportant, it's what they "intend" that matters.
integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care I guess that means Psychology and Spirituality are integrated and can be treated as one and the same.
offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death I guess the sooner you put someone to sleep the more likely you are to catch them at a more "active" stage in their lives. Age four or five might be optimal.
And so on.
***Since then the flow of the drug into Belgium has stopped.***
Ball peen hammers ain't out of style!
But as the vet told us years ago, use a needle because it looks better.
Sickos.
***Without the drug they say it is impossible to comfortably kill the on-average 30 patients a month who are officially euthanized in Belgium,***
That's because you have no repeat buisness!
**Do Belgian doctors even take the Hippocratic Oath? And if so, why?***
In the US, the last version I saw had the words about refusing to give an abortive potion replaced with the words, "illegal operation".
***Perhaps they'll build showers and ovens?***
Inject them with BLACK LEAF 40 (Nicotine sulphate). I saw a horse put down in 6 seconds with it.
Then there is the back up, the ball peen hammer.
Or you could drop them off in a mohammedan neighborhood with a cartoon of Mohammed pinned to their chest.
I saw a cartoon way back in the 1980's by Stayskil of the Tampa Tribune.
A man and his girlfriend/wife, with an evil look in their eyes, are dropping "the Pill" into sick old Ma's drink.
On the floor is a newspaper with the headlines "Congress Ok's Euthanasia".
Sick old ma says to them...
"I should have aborted you just like I did your brother!"
You might be surprised to learn that American doctors don't take the Hippocratic Oath either. Why? Because it includes a vow not to commit abortion. That's why.
You might be surprised to learn that American doctors don't take the Hippocratic Oath either. Why? Because it includes a vow not to commit abortion. that's why.
My father (92, blind, nearly deaf, vascular dementia-- good sense of humor, enjoys ice cream, spurts of quirky memory, lovely smile) lives here at home with us, and we receive some support services from a hospital-related Home Hospice agency. Nicest people you'd ever want to help care for a beloved parent. I praise them every time I talk about them.
My experience with Hospice was not so pleasant and I haven't forgiven them for their even passive involvement with Terri Schiavo. Beware -- you haven't seen them with their masks off.
Palliative is not a bad word in and of itself--I hope this won't be the new buzzword... Hand lotion is palliative--it relieves symptoms but does not "cure" dry skin.
How can people who think this is normal live from one day to the next?
Seen this one?
Why don't they just use a decompression chamber like vets used to do?
Some hospices do provide compassionate palliative care. But I don't know of a way to determine ahead of time which ones do, and which ones will kill, given an opportunity. Even the ones who kill, usually provide excellent care, up to that point. It helps to stay very involved, and make it clearly understood that euthanasia will not be tolerated.
Soak them in a burning chemical solution, cut them into little pieces, then vacuum away what's left.
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