Patient Safety | 03.28.23
Colorado Doctor Fights Firing by Catholic Hospital Over Handling of a Terminally Ill Patient
by Courthouse News Service
Dr. Barbara Morris, a specialist in geriatric medicine, recently petitioned the Colorado state Court of Appeals to revive her lawsuit against the Catholic hospital that claimed she violated its ethics directive and fired her for assisting a terminally ill patient under the End-of-Life Options Act. The legislation was passed by 65 percent of voters in 2016, permitting terminally ill patients to seek help from a doctor to end their lives. The law gives medical facilities permission to opt out if they don't wish to allow patients to end their life on the premises. Cornelius Mahoney was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma at 64. Adenocarcinoma forms in the glands lining organs causing Mahoney to suffer tumors in his liver, his chest and the place where his stomach met his esophagus, making it difficult to eat. Mahoney's hospital, St. Anthony's, and parent company Centura, not only opted out of providing aid in dying treatment, the Catholic health care nonprofit also required employees to follow a strict set of moral directives prohibiting physicians from helping a patient to end their life. Centura fired Morris five days after she filed the civil suit, claiming she admitted to breaching her contact.
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