Money may very well be an issue. If we don’t at least consider the cost of medical care being provided to any particular individual or for any particular procedure, we’ll have de facto rationing, which already seems to be happening. We spend more per capita in the U.S. on healthcare than anywhere on Earth, IIRC, and yet heart disease, morbid obesity, and child mortality rates are still tragically high compared to most Western European countries and Japan, for instance. Would you rather spend $1,000 on innoculations for a lot of kids, or on a few hours’ care for one kid like little Emilio? There are some tough calls ahead.
For purposes of this discussion, though, the hospital is trying to take the money issue off the table. I understand why, of course - they don’t want to be accused of pulling the plug just to save some bucks.
If there’s no hope (or cure) and it will be a long, painful death, just take him off the machines and let him die peacefully. There’s a big difference between killing a child and letting it die.
I do so hate providing futile care. It’s horribly, horribly draining emotionally on the providers of care.
Note that I’m not talking about comfort care. That can be quite rewarding, even in horribly messy terminal cases.
But the futile care, the unnecessary infliction of further needle sticks, tubes down the nose and up into the bladder, rectal tubes, insertion of pacemakers, delivery of jolts of IV or even intracardiac adrenaline to stimulate the heart, doing chest compressions and intubating someone, all done knowing that it is futile and won’t buy another quality moment, but only prolong a demise.
No patients, or parents of patients, or legal guardians of patients have the right to demand that I inflict that sort of treatment on anyone.
This is one of the reasons why I’m so glad both parents drew up documents stating their wishes not to be pounded on, kept on machines, and stuck with needles only to prolong the agony in a most futile and painful way.
It bothers the hell out of me to hear people say, “Oh, if you just hang in there, a miracle could happen! A cure could be discovered! Some other medication might work!” And in the meantime, the patient turns black, blue and purple from IVs, has tubes all over the place, and has nothing but more of the same to look forward to.