As harsh as this article may sound the practice makes sense. And while it has the potential for abuse, I think the possibility of poor decision making by impassioned family members is much more likely.
And please, before I get flamed by those who would equivocate the preplanning described in this article with the death panels brought about by Obamacare - there is a huge difference between withholding medical care that would have been available if the government left health care alone, and a shortage of equipment due to a pandemic.
No other alternative. My guess is ECMO machines will be rationed first. Not as many of them, much more labor intensive to use and in the Southern Hemisphere, some patients were put on those almost immediately because their lungs were so full of snot mechanical ventilation would have caused their chests to explode.
Exactly. What else are they supposed to do? Jack up the cost of medical care by buying millions of extra ventilators that will probably never be needed? Obviously, in a major pandemic, lots of people are going to die, and it makes sense to prioritize saving the ones who actually have a chance of getting out bed and doing something with their lives.
It would be outright MURDER that’s what it would be.