More than a year ago, the National Catholic Register warned about "POLST":
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"A
patient in a nursing home or hospital is increasingly likely to be
asked to sign a form with a benign-sounding name: Physician’s Order for
Life-Sustaining Treatment....an instrument for dealing with end-of-life
decisions if the patient is incapacitated....'The Polst is a living will
on steroids,' said E. Christian Brugger, who holds the Cardinal
Stafford Chair of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological
Seminary in Denver and is one of a number of Catholic ethicists
concerned about the emergence of the Polst....'The ethical guidelines
for Catholic hospitals — called the "Ethical and Religious Directives" —
state clearly that the administration of food and water to all patients
who need them to survive is a moral obligation,' said Brugger" (Charlotte
Hays, National Catholic Register, 5/16/12).
It would come as a shock to many in Bucks and other counties of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that we are already in highly vulnerable situations - even in Catholic facilities! For example, information on "advance directives" is available online, which fails to clearly specify that Catholic teaching MUST be honored - particularly with regard to the provision of nutrition and hydration. Neither Saint Mary's Advanced Directives and Living Wills, nor Holy Redeemer's Making Your Own Health Care Decisions and Advance Directive Form, nor Mercy Health System's Vendor Compliance Program properly specify
- Catholic teaching with regard to nutrition and hydration, and
- that health care services cannot honor advance directives (e.g., non-specific directives to forego nutrition and hydration) opposed to Catholic teaching (cf., Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Charter for Health Care Workers, 1995; Address of John Paul II to the Participants in the International Congress on "Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemnas", 3/20/04; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration, 8/1/07; USCCB, Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (5th ed), 11/17/09).
This past Friday, Julie Grimstad warned that:
Thank you,
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"The POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form is a
standard document that, when signed by a designated healthcare
professional, dictates whether to withhold or administer certain forms
of medical treatment and/or care. POLST is known by different acronyms
in various states (MOST, MOLST, POST, etc.).
"A brightly colored form that is very visible in a patient's medical chart, POLST has boxes to check off indicating that a patient does or does not want cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), antibiotics, nutrition and hydration, etc....
"The completed POLST form is not simply an expression of a patient’s treatment preferences; it is a set of physician's orders which must be followed....
"POLST is tilted toward non-treatment and can encourage premature withdrawal of treatment from patients who, but for the denial of treatment, would not die.
"Facilitators present options for treatment as if they are morally neutral, even though certain decisions may lead to euthanasia by omission. Groups that promote euthanasia and assisted suicide, such as Compassion and Choices (formed by the merger of Compassion in Dying—a Hemlock Society spin-off—and End of Life Choices), strongly endorse POLST. This is a big RED FLAG.
"Of special concern is a new federal bill – the 'Personalize Your Care Act' (H.R. 1173). Introduced by Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon [with Alyson Schwartz as a co-sponsor], on March 14, it is described as a bill to 'amend the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid, and for other purposes'....H.R. 1173 includes funding for promotion of POLST throughout the country" (What is a POLST, and why should you oppose it?, LifeSiteNews.com, 8/30/13).
Thank you,
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