To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Dutch Legislator Wants Doctors to be Able to Deny Surgery to Patients Over 70-Years-OldIt's a cowardly new world out there. (The Netherlands)— [Lifesitenews.com] A Dutch environmentalist legislator has suggested restricting surgeries for patients older than age 70 by allowing hospital geriatricians to decide whether or not to operate and continue to provide treatment. (Image: Pixabay) Corinne Ellemeet of Groenlinks (the Green Left) made the proposal in February and recently presented it in the Lower Chamber of the Netherlands. In technically advanced countries, 70 is not exactly equivalent to "old age." In the Netherlands, people born after 1955 will only receive a state pension when they are 67 years and 3 months old. This limit is expected to rise to 70 as the population ages. Life expectancy is slightly above 81. Ellemeet insisted that she is only interested in giving the elderly the best possible care. "It's not about saving money," she said, but about avoiding "overtreatment," because operations are not always beneficial and can even put undue strain on the patient. However, the logic of her proposal is based on cost-effectiveness. She underscored that 70 percent of patients in Dutch hospitals are over 70, suggesting they should not receive the same treatment as younger patients as a matter of course. A screening process should be put into place when advanced and costly treatment is under consideration, she said—including heart operations, cancer treatment, kidney dialysis and the like. "The central issue is this: What are we doing to the patient? Hospitalization, anesthesia, pain, and a deluge of drugs. Research shows overtreatment of elderly patients is still an everyday occurrence," she said. In concrete terms, the patient's will to go on living and fighting would no longer play the determining role, but a geriatrician's opinion on what the patient's quality of life expectations would be. Stopping treatment would amount to "adding to the patient's quality of life," explained Hanna Willem, president of the Dutch association of Clinical Geriatrics, who supports Ellemeet's suggestion. Last September, a study in the Netherlands found that over 65's account for one half of all health costs in the country. In 2017, care for the elderly amounted to 28 billion euro (about $31.5 billion US), equivalent to 8,650 euro (almost $10,000 US) per person. One in five persons is over 65 in the Netherlands, or a total of nearly 3.3 million souls. By 2030, the proportion is expected to reach one in four. Nearly 2,000 people are 100 or older. Clearly, the issue is a social and political one... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here Click here to continue reading.
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News Trump Under Fire for Endorsing the Bible, Urging Americans to Pray Speaker Johnson Announces He'll Invite Netanyahu to Address Congress Federal Appeals Court Rules Pennsylvania Must Only Count Mail Ballots With Dates, Signatures President Trump to Join Wake Honoring Slain NYPD Officer, While Biden Attends Fundraiser Elon Musk to Pay Embattled Doctor's Legal Fees after Speaking Out against COVID Lockdowns Safety of Women Hangs in Balance after Oral Arguments on Abortion Pill Regulation New Federal Gun Grab Law Would Criminalize Shooting Ranges, and Even Private Security Treasury Sec. Yellen: Biden Has NO Plan to Save Social Security Chick-fil-A Abandons Long-Held 'No Antibiotics' Pledge on Chicken The War in Myanmar: Karenni Resistance Fighters Ask for Prayer and Practical Help The World Is Facing a Major Population Crisis by 2075 If Birth Rates Keep Falling FDA Admits COVID Vaccines Cause Seizures in Toddlers Kamala Harris Won't Disclose Why Biden Campaign Is Active on TikTok Despite Security Worries Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |