Initially, I was going to make this Update 4 to my previous post which I continue to update with relevant information, but I decided this one warranted its own post.
Judie Brown of American Life League has written an article entitled "Death: The Definitive Painkiller." She notes that the use of the term "palliative care" used to just mean providing comfort and relief to a suffering or dying patient, but in more recent times it is used to mean, basically, euthanasia. (I have come to learn this as well. "Comfort care" may very often be code for "snowing" a patient - that is, providing so much morphine they die. It's a way of getting around the prohibition against active euthanasia and speed the effects of passive euthanasia at times. More on that another time.)
Mrs. Brown writes about death by organ donation and how that plays into these euthanasia cases as well. Read that. It's truly stunning. Bobby Schindler has been bringing awareness to this issue this week as well. At some point I'm going to discuss that. There was a bill brought up this session in Texas to make organ donation automatic and opt-out only. I don't think it has gotten anywhere, but we are going to have to confront this issue very soon as politically unpopular and as misunderstood as it might be. Organ donation plays a roll in a too many of the euthanasia cases we see. We have to confront realities and bring truth and light into the darkness.
Getting back to the article, Mrs. Brown then writes about SB 2089 and provides cites, among others, to this blog for which I am honored and grateful. It made me aware of this fact: The nation is watching Texas. Will it do the right thing? That's entirely up to the Senate right now and, frankly, they need to have a fire lit under them. That's where you come in!
Mrs. Brown states:
In the state of Texas, pro-life Senate Bill 2089 is up for consideration right now. This proposal would undo the negative effects of the Texas Advance Directive Act. TADA violates the personal liberties of conscience among those who do not ascribe to euthanasia practices. How? According to Texas Right to Life, TADA—the 10-Day-Law—has“been accurately described by people across the political spectrum as ‘death panels.’ The patient and his or her legal surrogate have a mere 10 days to arrange an emergency transfer to another facility that would be willing to continue treatment. Such a transfer is often extraordinarily complicated in such cases, and there are no practical means under the 10-Day-Law for a typical patient to stop the ticking clock on their own.”
She wrote and tweeted:
She stated also:
Too many within the healthcare community embrace philosophies and practices that threaten those patients who truly need relief from suffering so that they can live the balance of their lives in comfort rather than literally being put down like dogs by any means possible.
Note that this is in the example of the definition of euthanasia I so often cite to on this blog, straight out of Merriam Webster's Dictionary. But people are not dogs and ought not be treated as such.
She then reminds us:
We must be clear: Ventilators and feeding tubes keep patients comfortable. They are not extreme. But perhaps the unspoken idea here is that palliative medication, when given in very high doses, represents a better use of resources and a quicker way to end a life deemed without quality or purpose.
Recall that Mrs. Jones has a ventilator and is on dialysis. Neither is extreme. But Memorial Herman wants her dead anyway, despite the fact that other facilities will take her once her funding is approved which will take a few more days than the 10 it gave her to get out or be dead. On what rational, moral basis is this justified? It's not ethical either. But some people call things what they clearly are not. Some people lie. Some people distort. But all people deserve better and need to know the truth. Read the rest of her article. It is enlightening and information from another source that you can use to educate yourself and promote the true cause of life from conception until natural death.
Why do I spend so much time on this? Is it really that important? Yes. Because, as Wesley J. Smith wrote an hour ago:
Once euthanasia consciousness grabs a culture by the throat, it never stops squeezing.
The plain and simple fact is that Texas has a law that allows involuntary passive euthanasia right now. It is unconstitutional. It has no due process rights for patients and that law is used by hospitals to sentence them to death. We can't have that and call ourselves pro-life. And, it won't stop there. The Culture of Death never stops. and the Culture of Death is alive and well and is here in Texas. It has taken hold of and is promoted by groups that call themselves pro-life and yet promote euthanasia and by an organization that speaks for and lobbies for the entirety of the Catholic Church in Texas and all of its bishops. So far, I've not seen a single bishop break ranks and speak out in favor of SB 2089 except for Bishop Gracida who the rest ignore (to their shame!). Silence is complicity. The Catholic Church has had too much of that. It's time for them to speak out now and actually promote the Culture of Life that Roman Catholic Church doctrine teaches. Every single one of us needs to promote the Culture of Life and light and truth in this dark, fallen world. We have an unceasing duty and moral obligation to do this. In this context, lives depend on it.
Please continue to contact your senators and let them know that you support SB 2089 and want it brought for a floor vote immediately. Session is over in about 19 days. We are close. That's why TAL, the TCCB, and others are fighting it so hard. We have to fight back.
Thanks for reading!
