The last ventilator: Who gets it, the illegal alien or the US citizen?

In Italy they are turning away elderly patients because they don't have the resources to help everyone. Someone needs to ask the Democratic candidates these questions at the debates.

What happens when the hospital is down to the last ventilator and put to a choice between giving it to an illegal alien and an American citizen?

What happens when American citizens, who spent their whole lives paying taxes and now need ventilators to live, are being turned away at a hospital triage while illegal aliens are inside hooked up to one?

Obviously an ounce of prevention, i.e. enforcement of immigration laws, could have prevented hospitals and their staff from being forced to make these terrible choices. I wouldn't wish that decision on anyone. But the reality is this is a question that health care workers may soon be forced to face.

So what's the right thing to do?

Illegal Alien or Registered Democrat 🥶

I’m what country is this hospital?
You didn’t mention that.

That decision would be, as it should be, left up to the physician in charge of the patients’ care; and be based on medical need, regardless of national origin or legal status.

to the one who have the money to pay for it

originally posted by: Bhadhidar
That decision would be, as it should be, left up to the physician in charge of the patients’ care; and be based on medical need, regardless of national origin or legal status.

As the question is put, the tax paying citizen needs a respirator to live and there are none left. Assume the illegal alien using the respirator in the hospital needs the respirator to live as well. Both would die without it.

Reading these threads makes me think we deserve to die....

Neither, that's the only logical decision.

Leave the last one open for a true emergency that would be pinnacle to the survival of the human race.

These types of "questions" are essentially a "eugenics for dummies" type of thing.

Sure, the average person may see it as something as simple as old vs young. But it's all the same thing. Because the line will always move.

Age...then becomes gender(reproduction capacity), but whenever the two comparators meet the same requirements you have to move to the next. So you get to genetics. IQ, race, etc.

The reality is that very, very few actually have the intellectual capacity let alone the lack of morality/humanity to actual discuss such things. Let alone make the life or death decisions.

Someone needs to ask the conservatives...
If it's all just a bunch of overblown hype to make trump look bad...
Why are you asking such stupid questions?
Sorry to be so rude about it, but really, why are you worrying about it? or are you really worrying about weather they'll be enough ventilators or are you just taking another opportunity to bat around a small segment of the population while you accuse the dems of politicizing the crisis by pointing out the weaknesses in our system, like the shortage of ventilators, that the crisis is pointing to.

a reply to: jwlaffer

If there's only one ventilator left, the doctor will keep it for himself.

a reply to: jwlaffer

access to rescourses based on " paying taxes " - smells omminously like socialism - which every true american patriot should reject without question

a real american - would own his own ventilator

an america with no personal ventilator - should accept his failure with dignity and blow his own brain cell out with his .45

this post should be taken as seriously as the OP

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Oh, dont worry. It wont be considered socialism by them when the government makes it a priority to make permanent improvements to our healthcare system to increase the number of beds, ventilators, and other equipment and supplies to close up the cracks that this crisis revealed so plainly to all.

a reply to: dawnstar

Oh geez.

Tell ya what, you buy the first few and the ones after that are on me.

You ask the 2 patients if they are willing to submit themselves to a game of chance, like flipping a coin. If all other characteristics of the 2 patients are equal, that's the best solution.
But it's the kind of questions that are found in ethics, like for example "if 5 patients are in urgent need of different organs transplant, and you have a 6th patient who arrives and this patient only needs a small dose of a known substance to be saved, do you let him die to harvest his organs and save the 5 others, or do you save him and let the 5 others die ?"

a reply to: BoscoMoney

Na.. I pitched in to help pay for the ones we have now and all I got out of my trouble was a tough luck go away, along with a permanent disability...
Time for you young ones to pay your dues.

a reply to: jwlaffer

What happens when the hospital is down to the last ventilator and put to a choice between giving it to an illegal alien and an American citizen?

Call El Chapo and borrow one from Mexico. They have a low case count if not zero cases in most of South America anyways, so they say.

originally posted by: Bhadhidar
That decision would be, as it should be, left up to the physician in charge of the patients’ care; and be based on medical need, regardless of national origin or legal status.

This is my sentiment also. I concur.

How does triage work?

Having the dysfunctional government we have that respirator is probably unopened in some warehouse waiting for some vague regulation to be waived at the behest of some congressman who was once propped up by a lobbyist on the behest of profiting off of pharmaceuticals and life-saving machinery. Even now rather than behaving in the peoples best interest and saving lives the fractured government is still being held hostage by saboteurs who have worked to diminish the voice of the people and our governments effectiveness. Since the last presidential election saboteurs have made sure the government remained fractured and tried to halt any progress that would help our leader effectively lead. Yeah, there are some cooperation as of late but it's far too little and far too late.