AMA stands against legislation to require lifesaving medical care for disabled, incapacitated patients

After the starvation and dehydration death of Terri Schiavo, some states are considering proposals to make it illegal to keep food and water from patients unable to make their own medical decisions (and who didn't previously ask that hospital staff not try to save them), but Lifenews.com reports that the American Medical Association has said it will oppose any such legislation. If you enjoy this article, you may also be interested in an article entitled 'Mass drugging of schoolchildren remains dark secret of public education, psychiatry.'

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Original news summary: (http://www.lifenews.com/bio1048.html)

• The American Medical Associated yesterday adopted a resolution opposing any legislation that would make sure disable and incapacitated patients are not refused lifesaving medical care.
• After the starvation and dehydration death of Terri Schiavo, some states are looking at proposals to make sure food and water are not removed from patients who can't make their own medical decisions and have not previously asked that they be deprived such care.
• However, the AMA says it will oppose any legislation making that kind of determination.
• Many of the doctors attending the group's annual meeting in Chicago said they don't want government to get involved in the doctor-patient relationship, according to an AP article.
• Nancy Valko, of Nurses for Life and a leading monitor of end-of-life issues, says the need for the legislation the AMA opposes is great because many hospitals are adopting "medical futility policies."
• Also on Tuesday, the AMA reaffirmed existing policy saying it is ethical in some cases to stop life-sustaining treatment if the doctor believes it is in the patient's best interest.
• Because of the kind of policies the AMA favor, some who specialize in monitoring euthanasia issues say patients should make their medical requests known now to prevent winding up in a situation similar to Terri's.
• Wesley Smith, a leading pro-life attorney who specializes in bioethics issues, says people should make their wishes known beforehand.
• "I think people need to create advanced directives in which they say, 'I don't want to be dehydrated to death and have my food taken away if I become cognitively disabled,'" Smith explained.
• "We always hear about doing away with treatment, but they can also be used proactively to say, 'Look, don't take any actions to intentionally kill me,'" Smith concluded