Posted on 05/28/2019 6:21:07 PM PDT by marshmallow
The 'affaire Vincent Lambert' is a test of the nation's commitment to the disabled
Last week, in a case which has divided France as Terri Schiavo’s did in the US, a Frenchman who has been in a vegetative state for more than 10 years had a last-minute reprieve from dying after doctors turned off his life support. It was turned back on pending further deliberations in the courts.
Vincent Lambert, now 42, became a quadriplegic and was badly brain damaged in a car accident in 2008. His wife, who is his legal guardian, and some of his siblings asked doctors remove life support in 2014. His parents wanted to keep him alive and have been fighting in the courts ever since. Euthanasia is illegal in France, but there is a provision for removing hydration and nutrition and allowing a heavily-sedated patient to die of thirst and starvation.
So Vincent Lambert unwittingly became the flashpoint for a bitter debate over the “right to die” in France as his relatives slugged it out in the courts.
Lambert can breathe on his own and opens and moves his eyes; his parents insist that he is not terminally ill and that he may be able to communicate.
The experts disagree – but more over the ethics than clinical issues.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercatornet.com ...
Why is it called a “right to die” case?
The man is not asking to be killed. It is his wife who is trying to kill him. It is her “right to kill” being debated, not his “right to die.”
If all I could do is breathe and move my eyes, I hope my wife would do the same thing.
This is why I have advance directives. I have made my family aware of them, and my husband is aware of them. Decisions like this need to be made before something happens, not dissimilarly to a DNR, while the patient is capable and lucid. It’s hard to discuss when you’re healthy because you don’t know if you’ll feel the same way if you are injured or become chronically I’ll, but it will have been a decision that you yourself had made, and not a decision made for you.
My family said they would obey my directives, which are very specific and legally binding. I also update them every year or two, along with my will, because I’m that thorough.
+1
I see that you are very new to FR. Welcome.
The waters get rough around here as many (including myself) have very strong positions on issues.
Just a heads up :)
You are also very smart to prepare the way you do for what could happen to ANY OF US on any given day.
God forbid.
That is good. It is also good that you discussed it with your family. Having that discussion ahead of time is great.
10 year vegetable is just sick.
Let me go already.
The problem with that is he’s not a vegetable. No human is a vegetable. In this particular case the patient is semi-conscious.
The conflict in many of these cases is hidden in a discrepancy of terminology that blurs what actually happens.
Food and water by tube is included in semi-medical definition of “artificial life support.”
Catholic church and other Christians decree distinctly that food and water are ORDINARY CARE — to which every person is entitled... How they are administered (feeding tube, spoon, straw, self) is totally irrelevant to this fundamental right to ordinary (not artificial) care.
What now is very common in the USA is removing food and water so patient dies of starvation or dehydration in about 14 days.
This is usually a painful and agonizing death, although you will find plenty of articles online that say opposite. It’s also why these so-called merciful deaths are heavily sedated with morphine, ativan and fentanyl.
Actually, the doctor is killing the patient but that is hidden under the deceivingly reassuring term “remove artificial life support,” or the more euphamistic “let them go.”
If that is your wish, it is up to you to put it in writing in a legal document. Don’t put other people in the position of fighting over whether to kill you or let you live.
When I had surgery recently, the medical staff offered to have a lawyer speak to me about setting up such a document. I declined, since I expect to live a while, but if my condition changes, I may change my mind.
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