Discrimination on the basis of disability

autisticadvocacy.org ASAN Statement On The Killing Of Nancy Fitzmaurice 28 October 2014

Unfortunately, ASAN’s position reflects an ignorance of medical reality. While doctors cannot deny a person from being offered food and water, this should not be conflated with artificial nutrition and hydration. Medical interventions such as intravenous fluids cause harm though pain and risk of complications. This harm is justified when it is outweighed by benefit such as improved long-term wellbeing.

All medical interventions require informed consent. After consent is given, it can still be withdrawn. In situations where the patient cannot give consent, the next of kin becomes the surrogate decision maker, whose wishes must be respected as long as they are in the patient’s best interests. With Nancy Fitzmaurice’s mother, this was the case.

For people who are severely disabled, the risks of intervention increase due to comorbidity, reduced physiological reserve, and reduced ability to recognise and communicate problems at an early stage. Conversely, the potential for benefit decreases in the setting of incurable illness. Thus, the ethical calculus of intervention shifts towards net harm. In a reality where all must die, there is an ethical imperative to offer “quality of death” with dignified peace rather than protracted torture.

While sounding negative to the medically untrained, "discrimination on the basis of disability" is a doctor's duty and failure to discriminate is negligence.

(original article from JYW's wall)

http://singularity24601.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/quality-of-life-quality-of-death.html