Category Archives: treatment withdrawal

NDY Public Comment on HHS/OCR Proposed Section 504 Healthcare Regulations

healthcare rationing, HHS, life-ending decisions, life-sustaining treatment, Lisa Blumberg, Medicaid, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, public comment, Quality Adjusted Life Years, quality of life judgments, suicide prevention, treatment withdrawal, treatment withholding, ,

Not Dead Yet has joined many disability organizations in applauding the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights for proposing critically needed rules to update and amend its Section 504 regulations in the area of healthcare. NDY’s public comment focuses primarily on the Department’s questions concerning medical treatment (Section 84.56), … Continue reading NDY Public Comment on HHS/OCR Proposed Section 504 Healthcare Regulations →

HHS Requests Public Comments and Stories of Discrimination in Healthcare

Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, HHS, life-sustaining treatment, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, public comment, Terrie Lincoln, treatment withdrawal, treatment withholding, ,

The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing important and beneficial new regulations under Section 504 to clarify how the law prohibits healthcare discrimination based on disability. The notice of proposed regulations from the federal government is full of examples of disability discrimination by healthcare providers. For example, based on a report … Continue reading HHS Requests Public Comments and Stories of Discrimination in Healthcare →

Lisa Blumberg: Recent Medscape Survey Indicates that Doctors are Divided on Life and Death Issues

"end of life", aid in dying, assisted suicide, futile care, futility, Health care decision-making, healthcare rationing, life-sustaining treatment, Our News & Commentary Blog, passive euthanasia, quality of life judgments, treatment withdrawal, , ,

Recent Medscape Survey Indicates that Doctors are Divided on Life and Death Issues by Lisa Blumberg Medscape is an online resource for healthcare professionals. It provides medical news and information and does surveys on current issues. (1) Its 2022 survey of 4100 U.S. doctors on “Right and Wrong in Medicine: Life, Death and Wrenching Choices” … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: Recent Medscape Survey Indicates that Doctors are Divided on Life and Death Issues →

Lisa Blumberg: Getting Beyond Advance Medical Directives

advance directives, Conversation Project, DNR, Do-Not-Resuscitate, Dr. Ferdinando Mirarchi, end-of-life care, Health care decision-making, life-sustaining treatment, Lisa Blumberg, Our News & Commentary Blog, supported decision making, treatment withdrawal, , , ,

For years, advance medical directives, popularly known as living wills, have been promoted as giving people control over what happens to them at “end of life”, i.e., when they are in dire medical straits. (1)  It is hard to disagree with the concept. Certainly, people have the right to refuse treatment they don’t find helpful … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: Getting Beyond Advance Medical Directives →

Matt Valliere On the Many Harms of Medical Quality of Life Judgments

"death with dignity", ableism, assisted suicide, better dead than disabled, COVID-19, healthcare rationing, lifeboat ethics, Matt Valliere, Me Before You, medical discrimination, Michael Hickson, million dollar baby, Newsweek, op-ed, Our News & Commentary Blog, Patients Rights Action Fund, qaly, Quality Adjusted Life Years, quality of life judgments, treatment withdrawal, , , ,

On November 2, Newsweek published an excellent op-ed by Matt Valliere, Executive Director of the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF), entitled The Brutal, Tragic, Consequences of Quality of Life Judgements. Though PRAF’s mission is focused on opposing assisted suicide laws, the op-ed does an uncommonly good job discussing other discriminatory and harmful medical practices that … Continue reading Matt Valliere On the Many Harms of Medical Quality of Life Judgments →