jenniferalicechandler

Why Do Government Policies Seem to End in Death?

One of the fallouts from people’s discretionary income being taken away from them due to inflation is that things regular people used to do to support society through charity and responsible pet ownership also goes away. Back in the time of Henry VIII, Henry VIII declared himself the head of the church then raided the monasteries. The monasteries supported the poor; Henry VIII and elites who profited from the money seized did not.

It seems every time the government volunteers to replace the philanthropy of the people and do the job itself, it fails. They don’t want to use the money for the people it was allocated for — they want to use it on themselves and for their own agendas. Very quickly it becomes their money. The intended recipients become a burden they can’t afford to support. Soon, like a corrupt person who takes money in the form of a loan from a third party, they begin to think if that person weren’t around they wouldn’t need to repay. You can see that in healthcare and in Social Security. In health care, there are the POST (POLST) and MOST (MOLST) forms in most states all over the country, which encourage the chronically ill or those not anticipated to live past a set period of time to forgo things like antibiotics, food, and water. For example, New York’s MOLST form states, “This Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form is generally for patients with advanced illness who require long-term care services

and/or who might die within 1-2 years.* The MOLST may also be used for individuals who wish to avoid and/or receive specific life-sustaining treatments.”

Criteria differs per state. Many require some sort of signature from the patient, even if it’s just an e-signature. Some states like Alaska and Tennessee only require the physician (or in some cases certain other health care professionals) to sign the form. In Tennessee, the criteria for signing away a patient’s life by a health care professional is that the professional wouldn’t be surprised if the patient died within a set period of time. The Tennessee POST form reads: “POST is not for everyone, but is designed for seriously ill or frail patients who wish to limit treatment in some way. To determine whether a POST should be considered, clinicians should ask themselves: “Would I be surprised if this patient died or lost decision-making capacity in the next year”? If the answer is, “No I would not be surprised,” then a goals-of-care discussion and advance care planning with POST is appropriate to consider. Each treatment on the form should be evaluated and discussed based on what, if any, benefit it has for the patient.”

Some of the forms, even those that insist on a patient’s signature, nevertheless allow the frail or the chronically ill to opt for euthanasia on the basis that basically their lives are just not worth living. Needless to say, I expect pressure is applied to these people to opt for death. It really was a macabre experience when I stumbled across this information. These forms managed to make it through state legislatures through most of the states in the county without my being aware of them. I personally would never want to live in a state where the patient’s signature is not required. But I’m dubious of e-signatures as well. If a signature doesn’t have to be witnessed and/or can’t be verified then what good is it?

The Tennessee form includes the following:

“The POST form is not intended to replace an advance directive, but can be used for seriously ill patients, even if they do not have an advance directive. It is recommended that patients with a life-limiting illness have two (2) documents: Advance directive that includes appointment of a health care agent (also called a power of attorney for health care (3) and scenario-based treatment directives POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment)”

Notice the words are intended and recommended not required.

Tennessee POST form reads:  “The POST from may be prepared by any health care professional. To be valid, the form

must be signed by a physician, or at discharge from a hospital or long term care facility by a nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), or physician assistant (PA). Verbal orders are acceptable with follow-up signature by the physician in accordance with facility/community policy. The preparer should fill out the health care professional information on the front of the form. The professional who signs the POST form is assuming full responsibility for the medical orders and attests that these orders are an accurate reflection of the patient’s current treatment preferences.”

Tennessee POST form reads: “Patient or Surrogate Signature

Tennessee is one of a few states that does not require the patient or surrogate to sign the POST form. However providers are strongly encouraged to have the patient or surrogate, as appropriate, sign it, due to increasing concerns about Tennessee POST forms not being honored in states requiring patient signatures.”

“Health care facilities are also required to honor specific orders contained in the POST. The POST form itself can serve as the order set, or new orders consistent with those on the POST form can be written, per facility policy.

Specifically for first responders, the Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities has defined the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and Para-Medic Scope of Practice so that Tennessee-certified First Responder or EMT are required to comply with POST forms appropriately executed if signed on discharge from a hospital or long term care facility (by a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant).”

You can read more about the Tennessee POLST form here:

Click to access 2015_Tennessee_POSTGuidance.pdf

Here are the signature requirements per state, which was last updated on February 28, 2022:

Click to access 2022.02.28-Signature-Requirements-by-State.pdf

Meanwhile, people are abandoning their dogs in dog parks. And the number of strays is increasing. The shelter system is overwhelmed. People increasingly can’t afford their own pets, can’t afford to adopt pets, and I suspect can’t afford to fix their pets. Eventually, they will begin rounding up these cats and dogs and putting them to death — if they haven’t already. Death is the solution that is their ultimate answer to everything. Let the problem get so bad that the public just wants the problem to go away. Then, they introduce death as the solution. Increasingly, it’s becoming a solution people are willing to live with.

(Gibson, 2024)

Gibson, K. (2024, January 9). “Animal shelters are overwhelmed by abandoned dogs. Here’s why.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/animal-shelters-overwhelmed-by-abandoned-dogs/

Michaels, 2023)

Michaels, D. (2023, December 12). “Owner Dumped His Dog Alone In The Park With A ‘Heartbreaking’ Note.” I Heart Dogs. https://iheartdogs.com/owner-dumped-his-dog-alone-in-the-park-with-a-heartbreaking-note/

(Molina Acosta, 2023)

Molina Acosta, C. (2023, January 4).  “Pets are being given up by people who can’t afford to keep them.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146866246/pets-are-being-given-up-by-people-who-cant-afford-to-keep-them

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