Tough questions about Jessica's transplants (Michelle Malkin)

TownHall.com ^ | 2/21/03 | Michelle Malkin

[chatham]

Thanks, Michelle Malkin is one of the very few people to speak out against the rape of America by Illegal aliens.
When hospitals are closed because illegals drained their resources we as a country are in serious trouble.

[Texas_Jarhead]

they are criminal aliens if they are here illegally

[Hatteras]

Although I agree with your assertion, I think the problem lies beyond that.

This girl was admitted by Duke and Duke took on the responsibility to help this girl because someone came up with the cash. If they had done their job correctly, there would not have been any mention of it and life would go on.

Duke screwed up royally and Duke should be the one footing the bill for the second operation. If the medical staff has to take one week less of vacation this year than so be it.

[FITZ]

But they'll also have to admit that an American child died because they didn't get a heart. Actually two now.

[A2J]

Excellent article.

[eeman]

Yes,Duke will be paying for the second transplant and if they had done it correctly the first time no one would have ever heard about this--and that is part of the problem. I suspect that many transplant centers will provide transplant to illegal aliens, who have no funding or are under-funded. In this case there was funding for the operation, but I doubt she had funding for her long term care and medications. In the long run, Duke is probably going to have to pay for her care regardless of how successful the first operation might have been. If she lives, this will be in excess of 20,000 per year.

To the degree that a medical center can afford to do this, I think they should. However, based on what I have observed, I wonder how many illegal aliens are getting preferential treatment over indigent white citizens, particularly if they are male.

[Hatteras]

A quick question. I mentioned on another thread that my wife works for a local healthcare provider. A couple of doctors employed there said that this procedure (heart & lungs) would only give her about 5 years if she is lucky and that this was not a "fix". How true is that? Or is it taking into consideration the post-op problems that you mentioned earlier? (failing to follow up, etc...)

[george wythe]

Most people who are strongly opposed to illegal immigration find room in their hearts to help sick children, even if the children are illegal immigrants:

Tancredo raises cash for illegal immigrant

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who has attacked illegal immigration, plans to help raise money for a 5-year-old Mexican boy with leukemia whose parents brought him to the U.S. unlawfully.

Free Republic Dec 18, 2002

[Illbay]

Those are cold statistics. "An American child." Which?

The only way you're going to be able to overcome this is by showing a child diying that day, letting people connect with him or her, and then show beyond a doubt that he/she is dead because "Jesica" is alive.

"They" won't let you get that far, because it isn't "p.c."

I repeat, this is a big blow to the cause of anti-illegal immigration.

[Zack Nguyen]

I have no problem with giving an illegal immigrant emergency medical care. However, the country of Mexico should pay the expenses. We should get that signed in a treaty.

[shezza]

... there are more transplant cadidates than organs and 1/3 of people on waiting lists for heart transplant die.

Donor card bump!

[eeman]

The answer is about a one year survival of 68 percent, 5 year survival of 43 percent, 10 year survival of 23%. Bear in mind that this is published data from Stanford, rather than national registry data, which tends to be a little worse--centers only publish their data only if it is better than average. Regardless of all the other issues brought up in this posting and discussion, I think it is too much use of resources to do a heart double lung tranplant. A heart transplant in my mind is about as far as we should go (1 year survival 90%, 5 year 75%, ten year is fifty percent). Gotta go, will post tonight if you have any other questions

[Nea Wood]

this is a big blow to the cause of anti-illegal immigration.

You're right. Yesterday on the America Online welcome screen, there was a very pathetic picture of Jesica in a hospital bed, with all kinds of tubes attached to her. Images like that are what people will remember. Michelle Malkin was brave to speak out, but she will get tons of criticism for this. Some people will say that she is an evil, uncaring monster; that if it were HER child, she would have done the same thing Jesica's parents did, etc. Perhaps most of us, out of desperation, might have also done what Jesica's parents did, but that does not change all the other facts Michelle brought up in her column. Anyway, this is a setback for the anti-illegal immigration cause. No doubt about it.

[hchutch]

I think this case is one where most people will see that "exigent circumstances" apply. If anti-illegal immigration people psuh this, they will set their cause back big time.

I am not a lawyer, but in cases where people face such circumstance, a legal doctrine of "competing harms" is applied. Short version, conduct that is otherwise unlawful is excused when such conduct is taken to avoid a greater harm.

Simply put, in an attempt to save their daughter's life, they hired a smuggler to get them into the U.S. where surgery that could save their daughter's life was far more likely to occur. I'm not a lawyer (I've pinged Congreessman Billybob, who is, and he might provide more info or correct me if I am wrong), but I think that their conduct was excusable in this case under that legal principle.

I've linked to statutes in New Hampshire and Maine discussing "competing harms" below:

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LXII/627/627-3.htm

http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec103.html

[NYC Republican]

The first operation was paid for by US taxpayers, not by "someone who came up with the cash".

[janetgreen]

I have no problem with giving an illegal immigrant emergency medical care

Emergency care is one thing, but illegal aliens use our emergency rooms as doctor's offices. A friend of mine works in a local ER, and she says it is filled with illegal aliens daily looking for care for everything imaginable, including head lice, colds, ingrown toenails, the list goes on. Because of them, paying Americans are forced to wait hours in those crowded ERs. The illegals know they will not be turned away or asked their citizenship status. This is in CA.

[Mamzelle]

Hospitals on borders needn't close to avoid being bankrupted by uncompensated care of illegals. All they need to do is shut down their ERs. The ER is the doorway, and the hospital is required to keep that doorway open to all comers. However, you'd be surprised to learn that in many states that ER need not be provided by the hospital at all. EG, they do not have to create the doorway in the first place.

[John O]

The obvious solution to this whole problem is to give the donor of the organs just compensation as well as a say in the organs disposition.

For instance, if I want my heart to go ONLY to a married white male between the ages of 20 and 35 with children and I want $20,000 paid to my estate for the heart, then that protects against my heart going to an illegal alien.

It's my heart and I should be able to dictate where it goes.

[Mamzelle]

see #57. ERs are money-losers for all hosptials, even without the problem of uncompensated illegal care. A hospital (the greedy thing) gets about 40-50% compensation of what it bills in an ER. Not to mention that an ER is high-risk and a liability target. It is a wonder more hospitals don't just shut down the emergency departments.

[Hatteras]

Actually, all the reports I've seen was that the fellow from NC that took the family in (an American businessman/builder) raised the money from donations.