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The avalanche of support in recent days for @JaniceDean and a small number of others working to expose Cuomo and the cover-up has been extraordinary. He should be held accountable (not least because he told us to!), but we should not forget the medics who gave him counsel.
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The advice from his health care team demonstrates the way throwaway culture dominates contemporary secular medicine. He wasn't the only governor given such advice. Too many powerful people in medicine see the elderly (especially those with dementia) as throwaway populations.
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A dismissive attitude toward this population has seeped into the broader culture, one which unsurprisingly leads to more support of physician-assisted killing and euthanasia. We are telling them they don't matter, so could it be a surprise that pushes for PAK are multiplying?
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I'll be testifying virtually at a hearing in CT on this later this month. CA is now forcing physicians to participate in PAK. Overseas, the Netherlands is seeing the highest growth among in PAK of people--wait for it--who are over 80 in nursing homes. https://twitter.com/CCamosy/status/1359481901355044864
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Meanwhile, Canada is explicitly pushing for euthanasia for the disabled: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canadas-proposed-expansion-of-assisted-death-threatens-to-push-the/
This is where the "aid in dying" rhetoric is seen for what it is: a rhetorical plan of smoke and mirrors to hide what is actually going on here: discarding whole populations.
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This is where the "aid in dying" rhetoric is seen for what it is: a rhetorical plan of smoke and mirrors to hide what is actually going on here: discarding whole populations.
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Forced or coerced DNR orders for the disabled in the UK and US: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/new-do-not-resuscitate-orders-imposed-on-covid-19-patients-with-learning-difficulties
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/21/946292119/oregon-hospitals-didnt-have-shortages-so-why-were-disabled-people-denied-care?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
34 percent of those surveyed "said they were under pressure to put DNACPRs in place without involving the person." https://cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20201204%20DNACPR%20Interim%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf
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https://www.npr.org/2020/12/21/946292119/oregon-hospitals-didnt-have-shortages-so-why-were-disabled-people-denied-care?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
34 percent of those surveyed "said they were under pressure to put DNACPRs in place without involving the person." https://cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20201204%20DNACPR%20Interim%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf
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I recently asked my bioethics students to wrestle with the fact that so many physicians joined the Nazi party compared to the rest of the country. And, indeed, with the role that US-style eugenics played here. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/history/articles/fernandes-doctors-who-became-nazis
There are important lessons for us today.
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There are important lessons for us today.
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Many physicians have done heroic work during the pandemic, especially the front lines. But there is also an ableist and ageist culture within the guild. It is this (throwaway) culture which led Cuomo's health advisors to make the recommends they did. https://religionnews.com/2020/06/18/yes-we-rationed-care-at-the-height-of-the-pandemic-and-the-elderly-paid-the-price/
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So, yes, hold Cuomo accountable. But let's not let the medical establishment off the hook in New York or anywhere else.
Great reporters like @NPRJoeShapiro @sherifink have done great work on this issue already, but we need more to uncover the size and scope of the problem.
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Great reporters like @NPRJoeShapiro @sherifink have done great work on this issue already, but we need more to uncover the size and scope of the problem.
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