Baby Charlie Gard's life

[Japanfan]

But I am uncomfortable with the Courts being the decision makers especially in a case where the parents only wanted to try for 3 months.

Three months is an eternity for someone who is suffering from pain.

 

[LilJen]

They didn't do everything possible. That was the point of the case. To them he had a "duty to die" and was wasting resources.

Lie

Uh, no. I'm in agreement with others in this thread that your conclusion is completely wrong. This had nothing to do with wasting resources. It had to do with a baby who was in pain and, alas, beyond help.

To me the biggest ethical violation was a doctor thousands of miles away who had never seen the patient declaring that he could help the family with a completely unproven-in-ANY-animal treatment.

Rest in peace, little Charlie. I hope his parents can find a way to make peace with this whole ordeal and further the treatment of other babies with this condition.

 

[ilovepaydays]

To me the biggest ethical violation was a doctor thousands of miles away who had never seen the patient declaring that he could help the family with a completely unproven-in-ANY-animal treatment.

No kidding. I wonder if a report to the doctor's state board of medicine can be fruitful. Or does it matter if the case is outside the U.S.?

My family knows physicians who've had board/insurance issues from actions that were either substantially less egregious or the physician was well within ethical standards.

This case is just horrible all around. RIP Precious Charlie.

 

[hanca]

To me the biggest ethical violation was a doctor thousands of miles away who had never seen the patient declaring that he could help the family with a completely unproven-in-ANY-animal treatment.

.

I agree. I think there should be some sanctions imposed on him because this was not right!

 

[allezfred]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

 

[skatesindreams]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

Thank you for this.

 

[Lorac]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

Very well written article. The ignorance portrayed by so many - especially over in the US - in regards to this case has been astounding and pretty hard to comprehend. But people want to see what they believe and nothing anyone can say will ever change their minds unfortunately.

 

[icie]

I hope there are some kind of charges against the US doctor that gave Charlie's parent false hope.

 

[hanca]

I hope there are some kind of charges against the US doctor that gave Charlie's parent false hope.

I don't know about charges because he didn't do anything unlawful, but it should have an impact on his career because what he did was unethical. He failed to behave in a professional manner, giving the parents hope, while not even seeing Charlie and checking his medical history for six months. Surely a doctor should know better! If I behaved like that, the professional organisation where I have to be registered to be able to practice would kick me out. How can he get away with it? Aren't US doctors registered with some professional organisation? Aren't there some expected standards of behaviour that the organisation expects?

 

[ilovepaydays]

Aren't US doctors registered with some professional organisation? Aren't there some expected standards of behavior that the organisation expects?

Here is what I know from physician friends of my family. This is not 100% detailed and I've probably missed some things here.

All physicians in the U.S. have to be licensed with the state board where they practice. Each state's board is in charge of licensing as well as investigating complaints. If any laws are broken, I'm not sure how the state board is involved with the state's attorney - like in the case of Conrad Murray against in Michael Jackson's death.

Depending on what happens with a state board's investigation, it can affect whether a physician can get malpractice insurance. I believe every U.S. state board requires physicians to have malpractice insurance in order to be licensed.

There's also the AMA (American Medical Association) and the societies of particular specialties, but I've always been under the impression that it's the state boards and malpractice insurance that can really end a career.

 

[WildRose]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

Excellent article, thanks for posting this.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Nothing new or illuminating in that article

 

[Vash01]

Charlie's parents are planning his funeral. He will be buried with his toy monkeys.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4134326/charlie-gard-funeral-burial-plans-parents/

 

[once_upon]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

Just as many here said what we believed to be fact . It's too bad that the US decided to make it an issue by interjecting the US beliefs and politics into it.

May Charlie's parents find comfort support within their community. There are just somethings we can't fix.

 

[misskarne]

Nothing new or illuminating in that article

Except for the fcuking facts that don't fit your holier-than-thou attitude.

 

[allezfred]

Nothing new or illuminating in that article

That's the point. Keep up.

 

[taf2002]

To me the biggest ethical violation was a doctor thousands of miles away who had never seen the patient declaring that he could help the family with a completely unproven-in-ANY-animal treatment.

I agree. I had a doctor who had never seen me but had seen my chest xray call me at home to tell me that I had lung cancer. He didn't say you have a spot on your lung, he actually said lung cancer. FYI I've had the spot since I was 2 yrs old, it's from chicken pox.

 

[Simone411]

Charlie Gard - The Facts

Thank you so much for sharing this. It's in black and white for all to see just exactly what went on with this precious baby boy. I'm afraid I've shed quite a few tears after reading this.

The one thing that should give us all comfort is that sweet baby Charlie is no longer suffering and in pain. May God bless him and his family.

When I was dying, my doctors told me that they were going to keep me in the coma so I wouldn't feel any pain. When the complete turn around happened (my kidneys started working on their own and my other organs stopped from shutting down), they brought me out of the coma.

Of course, I wouldn't have had any knowledge of dying while in that coma. But if I was given a choice versus the pain I would have went through, I would have also chosen to remain in that coma.

 

[skatemomaz]

http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2017/07/25/charlie-gard-nurses

Excellent commentary. Listen to the nurses.

 

[once_upon]

http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2017/07/25/charlie-gard-nurses

Excellent commentary. Listen to the nurses.

Thank you for posting this. Let it be a reminder to those who thought this was a easy job to do. It is and was not

 

[KCC]

Depending on what happens with a state board's investigation, it can affect whether a physician can get malpractice insurance. I believe every U.S. state board requires physicians to have malpractice insurance in order to be licensed.

Off topic, but related: I have a relative-by-marriage in Florida that is a practicing OB/GYN that does not buy malpractice insurance. The requirements and pricing for policies vary widely by state, and Florida Costs are quite high. This guy says the insurance is just too expensive, and he primarily treats Medicaid patients who don't sue. He is also quite the jerk and lies & exaggerates all the time. He is one of the most disliked people in my extended family, and that says a lot.

 

[Deleted member 1204]

I know two OBs who used to work in Florida. Neither of them carried malpractice insurance because it was prohibitively expensive. They had to hang a sign in the office letting the public know that they did not have insurance. Instead, they focused on hiding their assets in off-shore accounts to protect them. Crazy world... Eventually, they both moved to Texas, which has tort reform and limits each malpractice award to $1M, making insurance premiums achievable.

 

[caseyedwards]

I hope there are some kind of charges against the US doctor that gave Charlie's parent false hope.

I hope there are charges against the doctors who took power away from parents to try to save their child.

 

[misskarne]

And of course @AxelAnnie likes that post. Of course.

 

[once_upon]

I hope there are charges against the doctors who took power away from parents to try to save their child.

You obviously DID NOT read the article that Fred provided the link to. And you have never been involved in such a case or seen status epileptic seizures or brain death or any of the complex issues here.

But then it is difficult to read

 

[VGThuy]

You obviously DID NOT read the article that Fred provided the link to. And you have never been involved in such a case or seen status epileptic seizures or brain death or any of the complex issues here.

But then it is difficult to read

It's actually not that difficult, but you can't force people to learn things or challenge their preconceived notions.

 

[AxelAnnie]

You obviously DID NOT read the article that Fred provided the link to. And you have never been involved in such a case or seen status epileptic seizures or brain death or any of the complex issues here.

But then it is difficult to read

I read it. I understood it. I have had to decide to terminate card.

I still think the PTB were wrong in not allowing the parents to take their child for experimental treatment.

Intelligent, caring and informed people can and will disagree.

 

[Kasey]

And so shall you

 

[caseyedwards]

You obviously DID NOT read the article that Fred provided the link to. And you have never been involved in such a case or seen status epileptic seizures or brain death or any of the complex issues here.

But then it is difficult to read

I did read it. Nothing justifies not allowing the parents what they wanted.

 

[Japanfan]

I still think the PTB were wrong in not allowing the parents to take their child for experimental treatment.

The specific variant of mitochondrial DNA depletion disease which Charlie Gard has/had, RRM2B, affects both muscle and brain, and has never been effectively treated, much less reversed or “cured”. There is no known cure for mitochondrial disease, though there are treatments of varying efficacy for some variants. The “treatment” people thought was being offered by Professor Michio Hirano is not only untested on humans, it’s untested on mice, [

Charlie was a tiny little baby who was suffering and in pain.

I can completely understand that parents in such a situation would hang on to the slightest possible hope and be willing to go to the ends of the earth for their child. But ultimately, the experimental treatment was really just for the parent's peace of mind, but was not in Charlie's best interests.

Nothing justifies not allowing the parents what they wanted.

You do understand what 'best interests of the child' means?

Parents do not have an unlimited right to do whatever they want with/for their children. Children also have rights, and those are protected by the state.