Murders at VA Hospital Show Why Oversight is Important in Healthcare Facilities

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,

On Tuesday a former nursing assistant at a VA hospital in West Virginia received seven life sentences for a series of murders she carried out at the hospital in 2017 and 2018.

USA Today writes,

During a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh called Reta Mays, 46, a monster of the “worst kind. You are the monster no one sees coming.” He delivered a life sentence for each murder victim, plus 20 years for an eighth victim she tried to kill. . . .

Mays is not eligible for probation for the seven life sentences, Kleeh said. She was ordered to pay restitution to the victims’ families.

The victims ranged in age from 81 to 96 and served in the Army, Navy and Air Force during World War II and wars in Korea and Vietnam. They died at the hands of the same person, at the same place, in the same way.

According to the article, Mays killed her victims by giving them lethal doses of insulin.

The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reportedly conducted an investigation after the murders came to light, concluding that “serious, pervasive, and deep-rooted clinical and administrative failures” at the hospital allowed the murders to go undetected for nearly a year.

“While responsibility for these criminal acts clearly lies with Ms. Mays, the OIG found inattention and missed opportunities at several junctures, which, if handled differently, might have allowed earlier detection of Ms. Mays’ actions or possibly averted them altogether,” the inspector general’s office concluded.

The murders and the inspector general’s office report illustrate why oversight is so crucial in hospitals, nursing homes, and similar facilities.

Earlier this year the Arkansas House of Representatives defeated H.B. 1685 and H.B. 1686.

These bills would have made it easier to deny food and water to people who are dying; would have made it easier to take patients off life support; and would have made it possible for healthcare workers other than doctors to make decisions about end-of-life care without appropriate training.

There also were concerns that the bills would have reduced oversight in healthcare facilities and made it easier for nursing homes to hide abuse and neglect.

That’s why groups like National Right to Life, Arkansas Right to Life, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA, Family Council, Northwest Arkansas Respect Life, Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents and others opposed these bills.

This story from West Virginia is a chilling reminder of what can happen when healthcare facilities don’t have appropriate safeguards in place. It’s also a reminder of why states need strong laws that protect patients — especially vulnerable patients near the end of life.

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ACLU Plans to Challenge Arkansas’ New Laws, Opposes Religious Freedom Amendment

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Last week the ACLU of Arkansas issued a report calling the state’s 2021 legislative session “a catastrophe for civil and human rights in Arkansas.”

The report heavily criticized some of the good laws the Arkansas Legislature passed this year, including:

  • Act 309 / S.B. 6 (Prohibiting Abortion): This good law by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits abortion in Arkansas, except in cases when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. This could save the lives of thousands of children and give the courts an opportunity to overturn bad, pro-abortion rulings. Read The Law Here.
  • Act 626 / H.B. 1570 (Prohibiting Sex-Reassignment on Children): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) and Sen. Alan Clark (R – Lonsdale) prohibits sex-reassignment procedures on children. The law also prevents funding of sex-reassignment procedures performed on children. This law will protect children from being subjected to surgeries and procedures that can leave them sterilized and permanently scarred. Read The Law Here.
  • Act 461 / S.B. 354 (Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports): This good law by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R -Smackover) would prevent male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics. This would protect fairness for girls’ sports at school in Arkansas. Read The Law Here.
  • S.J.R. 14 (Religious Freedom Amendment): S.J.R. 14 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) amends the Arkansas Constitution. It prevents the government from burdening a person’s free exercise of religion. The measure is similar to Arkansas’ state Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Family Council strongly supports this good amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. Read The Measure Here.

The ACLU indicated it plans to file lawsuits to block the state from enforcing Act 309 and Act 626.

If the ACLU follows through with its lawsuit against Act 309 (S.B. 6), it will give the federal courts an opportunity to reverse decades of bad case law on abortion — including possibly overturning or Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and other pro-abortion decisions.

The ACLU also said “The Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment [S.J.R. 14] would be among the most extreme of its kind in the country, giving people a basis to challenge and exempt themselves from virtually any state law.”

But that simply is not the case.

Most states in America have enacted Religious Freedom Restoration Acts similar to S.J.R. 14 already.

Alabama has had a religious freedom amendment very similar to S.J.R. 14 in its state constitution for many years.

Measures like S.J.R. 14 simply help restore protections for the free exercise of religion. It’s just a good amendment that will help ensure that our state constitution protects religious liberty in Arkansas.

That’s something that everybody ought to be able to support.

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