At the 2025 Mississippi Life Summit, Julie Grimstad with HALO presented on ‘Renewing Medicine’s Reverence for Life: Advance Directive, Hospice, Patient Advocacy.’  If you missed Julie’s session, here’s a complete recap: 

Traditional ideas of medicine are being steadily corrupted by the culture of death. We must protect ourselves and our loved ones from immoral/unethical healthcare practices. Healthcare’s purpose is to preserve and improve life. Authentic healthcare does not intentionally dispense death.  We often think of Hippocrates and his promise “to help, or at least do no harm.’  Very few doctors take the Hippocratic oath anymore.  The sanctity of life ethic is not directly taught in all medical schools.

In 1993, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote in the American Journal of Medicine, “Increasingly it will be our collective determination as to what lives are worth living that will decide how incompetent patients are treated.”  Dr. Emanuel was the chief architect of the ACA(Obamacare), enacted in 2010. 

Euthanasia

What is Euthanasia? An act or omission that causes death to eliminate suffering, ration medical resources, get rid of burdens, etc.  

Whatever its motives and means, euthanasia is morally unacceptable and ethically indefensible. Stealth euthanasia is the intentional hastening of death while pretending to provide appropriate treatment and is veiled as comfort care. 

Hope for our Future

Is there a reason for hope? Many conscientious physicians and nurses who adhere to the sanctity of life ethic are rare but do exist. They are our hope for the future of medicine. We must defend their conscience rights – their freedom to practice pro-life medicine. 

Medical decision-making requires expert knowledge of the benefits/risks of treatment.  However, reverence for life and common sense are essential to protect lives. 

Healthcare Advance Directives

What are Healthcare Advance Directives? – legal documents by which individuals express their wishes regarding medical treatment.  

Types of Healthcare Advance Directives:   

1. Living Will – a directive to physicians that was introduced in 1967 by the Euthanasia Educational Council as a doorway for euthanasia/’right to die’ 
2. Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) – a form that has a ‘check the box’ format slanted toward death.  This form does not require witnesses and bypasses patient consent. 
3. Medical Power of Attorney for Healthcare (MPA) – the best healthcare directive that grants a durable power of attorney for health care. This document ensures healthcare decisions are made in the moment of need by the patient-appointed decision-maker(proxy).  The MPA can be either life-affirming or dangerous. 

Drafting a Life Affirming Medical Power of Attorney for Healthcare

HALO recommends a Life Affirming Medical Proxy document (LAMP). HALO’s LAMP is an MPA that is designed to ensure your pro-life values are respected and your life is protected.  Always choose a proxy (or more than one) that will make life-affirming healthcare decisions for you. The wording in your MPA is very important. The most crucial decision: who to choose as your medical decision-maker. 

Every MPA should specifically declare: 

1. I reject both euthanasia and assisted suicide. Nothing in this document shall authorize anyone to approve or commit any action or omission that will cause my death. 
2. I have discussed the meaning of the words used in this document with my proxy, and my proxy’s interpretation of them is controlling.  

Personal Checklist to prepare for medical emergencies:

• Make your MPA part of your medical record. 
• Give copies to close family members. 
• Give originally signed documents to your proxy/proxies. 
• Keep an originally signed MPA in an easily accessible place. 
• Discuss your values and wishes with anyone who will listen so that you will have plenty of witnesses.

Choosing a Proxy

Choosing who will be your patient advocate or proxy is crucial to life-affirming medical decision-making. A proxy or patient advocate can be a relative, friend, volunteer, or healthcare provider who strives to safeguard the welfare of a vulnerable patient. Everyone who is sick is vulnerable. Particularly in need of advocates are persons whose lives are devalued in our society – the mentally or physically disabled, chronically ill, elderly, incurable, or poor.

Make a list of the people you trust. Every patient should have at least two designated proxies. The proxy and patient advocate may be different people or the same person, but you may need multiple proxies/patient advocates who can be with the patient in the hospital 24/7. 

Be prepared to advocate for a loved one. To learn more, visit the HALO website at  www.halovoice.org

What about Hospice?

Hospice care is focused on providing comfort care when a patient no longer has curative options or has chosen to forgo treatment because the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits. When palliative care is provided by healthcare professionals who have genuine respect for the life of every person committed to their care, it can be a blessing for patients and their families. Palliative care should never be used to cause or hasten death.

Historically, hospice clinics have been charitable organizations. But in the 1980s, hospice became covered by Medicaid and insurance.  Today, many hospice programs are ‘for-profit.’  Hospice care varies widely and is often unacceptably poor. 

Hospice care can be hugely beneficial when the hospice company is properly vetted, adheres to the sanctity of life ethic, and follows the wishes of the patient/family/proxy.  Watch out for professionals who use the term ‘transitioning’ which is another name for stealth euthanasia which involves administering increasingly frequent and larger doses of opiates, sedatives, and or anti psychotics, stopping all ordinary meds, and withholding nutrition and hydration. 

In 2021, a court case in Texas exposed the dangers of greed in hospice care. NOVUS Hospice Owner Brad Harris was convicted of medical fraud (not murder) and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Court documents said that the ‘hospice owner instructed nurses to hasten the deaths of patients by injecting them with morphine.’   

Learn more about Hospice Care: https://halovoice.org/2020/12/palliative-care-and-hospice/

Suggested Reading – Killing for Profit, the Dark Side of Hospice by Michelle Young Doers. 

The Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization (HALO) is a voice for the medically vulnerable. As a non-profit, Christian organization, HALO addresses a wide array of ethical issues, including euthanasia, assisted suicide, rationing of medical services, and hastening of death in healthcare settings. In addition, HALO promotes life-affirming healthcare practices, life-protective advance directives, and compassionate care for the sick and those nearing the end of their lives. 

HALO Helpline 1-888-221-4256