From the Washington Post about a year ago (March 19)...
Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a renowned heart surgeon before becoming Senate majority leader, went to the floor late Thursday night for the second time in 12 hours to argue that Florida doctors had erred in saying Terri Schiavo is in a "persistent vegetative state."
"I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office," he said in a lengthy speech in which he quoted medical texts and standards. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli."
Too bad the autopsy totally refuted that conclusion.
You'd think the honorable thing to do would be to say "I was wrong, sorry" and move on but that doesn't seem to be in his makeup. Instead, he says he didn't really make a diagnosis. Ummm... if you're saying you are "speaking more as a physician than a United States Senator." and saying the diagnosis of the other doctors is wrong, aren't you making a diagnosis? Or does the term have some technical meaning I'm missing? Maybe he's afraid of a malpractice suit. In any case it doesn't make me think "Presidential timber" if you know what I mean. Anyone want to offer a second opinion?
Update: According to Wikipedia's Autopsy details, "The brain itself weighed 615 g, only half the weight expected for a female of her age, height, and weight."
If Bill Frist had half a brain, he'd do the right thing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment