RE: -
03-27-2005, 09:37 AM
Msoto,
>The humanistic resource for caring for such a patient is non
>existent. The monerary resource probably exists...however I
>believe every shilling spent one way has an opportunity
>cost...back to basic economics and that opportunity cost is
>far heavier than politics and more ethical in my perspective.
I might not be in touch with this particular case as much to argue all the reasons for the deplorable decisions made. But never have I heard anywhere in the news talk from an econimical angle; dignity, respect the wishes of the patient, what is most humane etc etc have been the issues discussed. But I could be wrong.
>In US i am told they get to learn take courses, even graduate.
>Prisoners live their life as they would in the outside world,
>the only thing I think most lack is freedom. I think thats
>very pessimistic to expect that all criminals in any maximum
>prison are hard core and there is no possibility of
>reformation. That is why prisons exist because there is a
>possibility of reformation. Whereas for the vegetative state
>as of now there is no hope of restarting the thinking unless a
>miracle occurs.
I think I read somewhere that 70% of crimes in the USA are committed by repeat offenders who've served some time in prison. This doesn't sound like a system that is making these people "productive". There has been a lot of debate lately about how the prisons are run in America, it has become a business that is concerned less about the needs of the prisoner and more like a complex constructed to lock up black males. Many on death row are also imprisoned for at times 20 years or longer before excecution, how is this cost-effective or even humane?
>Such an exercise granted you great insight into people with
>dementia. I cannot challenge that insight for I have never
>worked with them. However back to my humanistic perspective, I
>think with great patience, perserverence, determination,
>relapse rates of dementia can be reduced and so can
>reformation from it, they still have after all their thinking
>patterns which are only disoriented to a very high level. This
>view-point of course is highly optimistic might it be
>implemented?
>>age rather than be in that state, but this should not made
>an
The cases that I was referring to are purtely PVS and nothing in science today offers these people hope. Some respond to physical stimuli but others are totally absent. There might come a time in the future when these problems can be solved pharmacologicaly or through surgery, but the prognosis looks bleak today. The same for people like Terri Shiavo and others with massive brain damage...the future might offer a therapeutic option. There was a a time people with TB, polio, small-pox etc died before vaccines were developed. Pharmas are today offering people suffering from diabetes, parkinsons, MS etc a quality life, so hope is there and we shouldn't sentence people to death just beacuse we can't treat/facilitate their conditions.
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