By Nancy Valko It was 1969 and I was fresh out of nursing school when I was assigned to a patient I will call “Jenny” who was thirty two years old and imminently dying of cancer. She was curled up in her bed, sobbing in pain and even moaned “just kill me.” The small dose …
Continue reading "Pain and “Choice”"Editor’s note. The following is the opening statement delivered today by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Good morning to my colleagues, the Ranking Member, and especially to our guests. I look forward to hearing from our panel about the subject of late term abortions. This is not the first occasion …
Continue reading "“Late Term Abortion: Protecting Babies Born Alive and Capable of Feeling Pain”"By Sarah Terzo From a woman who had an abortion but does not regret her choice. She still had a terrible experience [1]. “I first did an ultrasound, which they wouldn’t let me see. They said I was exactly 8 weeks along. I asked, “What does it look like,” picturing a little thing with arms …
Continue reading "“I was sobbing, yelling, thrashing around as the nurse held me down”"By Wesley J. Smith These stories are worth keeping in mind: In Canada, a patient thought unconscious for ten years was found able to communicate using sophisticated brain scans. From the 2012 BBC story: “Whether a patient is in pain is an important question for physicians. But for patients in a coma, it’s a …
Continue reading "“PVS” Patient Communicates “Not in Pain!”"By Wesley J. Smith “Persistent vegetative state” is the only medical diagnosis I know of that contains a pejorative. No human being is a carrot. And the more we learn about these persistently unconscious patients, the more we seem to be discovering that they may not be “gone” after all. Now, a study shows that …
Continue reading "Terri Schiavo-Type Patients May Feel Pain"