On July 18, 2006 Dr. Anna Pou, a surgeon and respected medical school professor, …

• Introduction
• The Function of the Principle of Double Effect
• Conclusion
• References

Biology Articles » Bioethics » Patient Deaths in New Orleans: Mercy Killing or Palliative Care? » Conclusion

Conclusion

- Patient Deaths in New Orleans: Mercy Killing or Palliative Care?

As of November 21, 2006, Judge Calvin Johnson in New Orleans said that Dr. Anna Pou and Nurses Cheri Landry and Lori Budo accused of killing four desperately ill patients should be formally charged or exonerated. According to Judge Johnson, “The case needs to either go forward or end.” ¹⁹The real issue in this case is to determine the precise facts of what happened during those dark days following hurricane Katrina at Memorial Hospital. The general rule is that health care professionals do not intentionally kill patients. They are trained to heal and cure and when this is not possible to care for their patients by giving them comfort measures. If the intention of Dr. Pou and the two nurses was to give doses of morphine, under these desperate conditions, to provide comfort care, then it was not only medically appropriate but ethically required. It is now for the law to determine the precise facts in this case and the intentionality of these three individuals.