Why are DNR's not banned and why is there still talk about legalizing euthanasia?

If a dnr patient is in the hospital or other medical facility for a minor treatable problem, the staff can give the dnr patient enough of the wrong meds or sedatives or whatever will work to kill the dnr patient and blame it on something else or just tell the family that the their loved one deteriorated and passed from whatever he/she was in the hospital for. If it is someone who is elder they can say it was from dementia or even old age.The staff can drug a patient since it is much easier to work with a unconscious person then someone who needs help. If too many sedatives are given it is no big deal when a patient is a dnr patient. cpr will not have to be done when the patient is needing the cpr from the overdose. dnr patients are more comfort measures for the staff since the staff already often do not want to bother to help all patients leave alone one with a dnr. The dnr patients get very neglected by the staff. The staff can decide when they want that patient to die.They can make it look like it was natural. Maybe the hospital is too crowded and they need that dnr patients bed.There is just a lot of dnr abuse which is why dnrs are so extremely dangerous to ones health and deadly. If the staff want to put an end to a patients life they have been known to get a doctor to put a dnr on a patient who does not have or want a dnr. This can be done without the family knowing unless they look in the chart. Of course this is illegal if the patient does not want one. Instead of the dnrs and no drastic measures there should be some way that the family can decide when their loved one is ready to go and be legally allowed to tell the staff no if the patient is ready to be hooked up to machines and get cpr. The staff should not even know what the family and patient wants until the actual time comes and the family is there to decide what should be done. It should not be the business of the staff until then, since the staff can take full advantage and abuse dnrs. Caregivers of elders or those with dementia should no the stages very well and the side effects of all the meds that the patient is given, especially sedatives and pain meds.Dementia symptoms are very similar to symptoms of sedative use and sedative overdose. However there are diffident differences that the caregiver must be well aware of. Also be aware of n.m.s. This is a sensitivity that people can have from such drugs as haldol and ativan. Be aware of patients that should not take these drugs because of certain health problems (black box warnings). It is a good idea to know everything about sedatives and the black box warnings. Medical staff are not trained much in how to use sedatives and what to watch for with black box warnings, so this is why black box warnings are ignored by the staff. If you have enough knowledge of what is going on in the medical field you will be more able to protect any of your family.Try to go to medical libraries to study more on the subject.

I am very sorry for your loss. I lost my Mom a month ago yesterday.

It is so important that people make the choice that is right for them, or that they have a medical directive given to a trusted family member.

It is a patient or family choice re the DNR. One is not required to have it. We had one for Mom, (who died under Hospice care at home) though it was not needed.

When I decided on Hospice for my Mom - I did so because she was 89, had advanced Alzheimer's (and possibly cancer), and was frantic with anxiety and pain. I wanted her last days to be as peaceful and pain free as the law would allow, and this was blessedly accomplished. I will never regret this choice.

I have a Living Will, as does my husband, and all our children know our wishes are the same as those we carried out for Mom.

I have personally selected a living will with the DNA option, because I want the choice not to keep my body alive when there is no life left. I had a very ill sister, who spent her last years in a nursing home, except she was in the hospital half the time with complications from the tubes and meds that were keeping her body going. She insisted on no DNR, and her wishes were honored to the point where they spent 20 minutes bringing her back from cardiac arrest and succeeded. Then she was a brain dead person living in a very sick body. Her choices cost the government more than a million dollars; her last hospital stay was more than $155,000. All for nothing. She was never going to get better. I can't, personally, do that to my family and so a DNR, should I need it, is right for me.

Hi Flowgo,
This is controversial because many people feel it's their right to decide if they want to be kept alive artificially after their body naturally starts to shut down. Many are in horrible pain and are medicated for that by choice.
You are right that this practice can be abused, but in most cases the patient's wishes are followed. However, the very fact that a DNR can be abused is what bothers some people. The controversy will likely always be around, as nearly any practice can be abused. Still, DNR is a choice, and people who don't want it don't need to have it on their record.
As for euthanasia, that's not likely to become legal for a long time, if ever. The topic will come up in politics because a few vocal people believe in the practice, however, most do not, even if they believe in choices for themselves. I don't think you have much to worry about there.
There is always room for discussion on these issues, but in the end families should talk at length with their elders long before an elder becomes ill. Then families know better what the elder would want done (or not done) in the end stages.
Thank you for being such a caring person,
Carol