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FAO: jennypie RE: Caregiving vs Killing?
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| ziptnf |
I'd like to know jenny's and the c0r's opinion on this.
Backstory: 91 year old woman Maria refuses to go to nursing home or caregiving facility because she "watched her two sisters die that way". Her niece Stephanie took the job of caring for her in her last stages of life. The old lady distrusts doctors, and when her health deteriorated so rapidly, Stephanie tried her best to call for help but Maria refuses any outsiders. She ended up weighing 35 pounds when she died, with bedsores so severe and her health so poor that they convicted Stephanie with murder. Her charges were dropped.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...0,7583841.story
What could Stephanie have done? They accused her of neglecting her aunt, and Maria's wounds are obviously severe enough to warrant that. When her aunt refuses outside care, at what point do you draw the line between caregiving and killing? |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| in an ideal world no one would live to 91 years of age. |
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| Vivid Boy |
| I think the beauty of this whole story is that she can say any stupid thing now on a message forum and when people call her out on it, she can just use this story to change subjects. that stepahnie girl is brilliant! |
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| Silky Johnson |
| I think the line can be drawn quite easily. If steps are taken to ensure the dying person has the capacity to make the decision to withdraw from having care, then it's their right to have to those wishes respected. It isn't neglect if the person specifically requested no care. This is why advanced directives and are so important. |
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| ziptnf |
Their main line of defense was that her niece was the sole caretaker and she let the woman's health deteriorate to the point of almost a brutal and painful death with the bone sticking out of the bedsores, and that Stephanie made no attempt to call 911 and help out.
The old lady made it specific she wanted no outside care, so why did they charge Stephanie for murder? Not defending the retarded accusation, just trying to figure this all out. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by ziptnf
Their main line of defense was that her niece was the sole caretaker and she let the woman's health deteriorate to the point of almost a brutal and painful death with the bone sticking out of the bedsores, and that Stephanie made no attempt to call 911 and help out. |
I don't know how they can determine what the death was like for the old woman without asking her herself. Maybe for that woman, all of those physical things didn't matter, and her dignity was best preserved by the avoidance of outside care.
| quote: | Originally posted by ziptnf
The old lady made it specific she wanted no outside care, so why did they charge Stephanie for murder? |
Yeah I don't know. There seems to be information missing from the story. |
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| PivotTechno |
| quote: | Originally posted by ziptnf
The old lady made it specific she wanted no outside care, so why did they charge Stephanie for murder? |
Because most laws tend to be painted with a very broad brush? |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
Where is the line drawn when a person is actually considered 'dying', though? Who makes this decision?
And what if Stephanie did not want to take care of her Aunt? It's an immense committment caring for a disabled person, there's a practically religious level of guilt attached to refusing to do so, especially when this lady has some asinine distrust of care-giving facilities. Much less the ing cost of them, which families are forced to shoulder when all they want is to live their lives. |
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| enydo |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Who makes this decision?
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Our lord and savior Jesus Christ. We shall all be judged. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Where is the line drawn when a person is actually considered 'dying', though? Who makes this decision? |
Doctors do, actually. Based on level of functioning across a broad range of mental, physical, emotional, etc. factors. It's actually not as grey an area as you think. It's called "failure to thrive" and that's when people are deemed palliative. |
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| ziptnf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
And what if Stephanie did not want to take care of her Aunt? It's an immense committment caring for a disabled person, there's a practically religious level of guilt attached to refusing to do so, especially when this lady has some asinine distrust of care-giving facilities. Much less the ing cost of them, which families are forced to shoulder when all they want is to live their lives. |
I assume they felt that Stephanie shouldered all the responsibility when she could have just said " off old cunt you're going to the nursing home". |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by ziptnf
" off old cunt you're going to the nursing home". |
:stongue: :stongue: |
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