Kid from undocumented family needs heart transplant. Do we let him die?

[proud2BlibKansan]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Latino community is coming together to raise money for a 14-year-old boy who needs a heart transplant.


Eduardo Loredo

Karina Loredo said her son, Eduardo, was an active child until he got sick in June.

"Eduardo was a normal kid until about five months ago," she told KMBC's Jim Flink. "What happened to Eduardo was very sudden."

The teen was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle enlarges and weakens and eventually stops working.

His family has no insurance and lacks the $500,000 necessary for the heart transplant.

more . . . http://www.kmbc.com/news/21926881/detail.html

Check out the comments. The TV station aired the story again this morning and said they had received so many calls that they felt they needed to clarify that Eduardo is a US citizen. But hey, Hispanic name and Spanish speaking mom on TV and the vipers come out! So once again in a week, during the Christmas season, there is a war on Hispanic kids.

If this doesn't tug at your heart, you don't have one.

[NMMNG]

1. In America every life is sacred and precious. America is pro-life!*

*Exceptions apply if you're poor, non-white, LGBT, non-Christian, disabled, etc. Other conditions or exceptions may apply at the whim of the RRRW.

[HarveyDarkey]

4. or already born

[Fumesucker]

2. Every damn convenience store here has a donation jar for some sick person or another..

The local bulletin boards are full of announcements for fundraisers for sick people..

Eduardo is far from alone in not having the money for desperately needed medical care.

And our politicians clearly don't give the slightest damn.

[wolfgangmo]

39. I was in Canada recently and something was bugging me about it.

And then I realized what it was. None of the convenience stores, gas stations, or other public places had any posters raising money for basic medical care.

What was bugging me was that Canadians actually had the balls to force the issue about 50 years ago and get medical care for all. What bugs me is that Americans lack those balls.

[Fumesucker]

43. I think you should put that up as an OP..

It is a powerful and astute observation.

[sandnsea]

3. Undocumented? Or US Citizen?

I'm confused on how there ended up being confusion on the issue. And if he's a citizen, why does he not qualify for Medicaid? Or does Medicaid still not pay for transplants?? My mother had a heart transplant. It was paid for through a combination of doctors donating services and maneuvering around the Medicare and Medicaid rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. He's a citizen, his family is undocumented

[AllentownJake]

5. Is there a heart available?

I feel for the kid's plight, and wish there was something that could be done for him. However, if there are two children who need a heart and there is one heart, who gets it. The US citizen or the undocumented illegal alien. There are a limited amount of organs available for transplant and the fact is these discussions have to be made when making life and death decisions. Do we have more of a duty to save one of our own citizens than to save the life of a non-citizen. If there are enough hearts, the ethical question does not exist.

I really wish we would fine businesses that hire undocumented workers $50,000 per undocumented employee, than these type of ethical questions would be meaningless.

I'm sure I'm going to get slammed for saying this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Who gets it? The one who needs it more.

Sad that you would even ask that question.

[AllentownJake]

17. Define who needs it more

Two children, one heart, both with similar life expectancies. Who gets the heart. The child who is a citizen or the child who isn't.

You have two hearts or a child that can live for a year vs 2 months there is no ethical debate.

The question is does citizenship mean anything.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. So you are expecting gold stars to the real citizens?

I believe we are citizens of the world and all people are equal. I am no better than anyone else nor am I entitled to anything special merely because of where I was born.

But that's just me. :shrug:

[AllentownJake]

24. Sorry I am not a citizen of the world

I am a citizen of the United States of America, and with that comes certain responsibilities and certain rights. All those who are citizens of this country regardless of race or religion are my equal in terms of rights and responsibilities in my eyes.

I am entitled to things because of where I am born, because I have the right to participate in the democratic republic here and as such am held to the account of the decisions my leaders make.

When my country has a surplus of wealth, I expect it to be generous with helping other nations and its citizens, when it does not I expect it to take care of its own citizens first and worry about the rest of the world second.

I'm consistent on that when it comes to trade, regulations on the environment, war and peace, and other issues.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Good for you

Have a great day.

[AllentownJake]

26. Let me know when you vote in a World Election

than you can claim your citizenship.

[pampango]

30. Most of us were born with American citizens. We were also born with a particular race, gender,

sexual orientation and many other characteristics over which we had no control. Your race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality are all "luck of the draw" characteristics that we are all born with.

Do one's race, gender, or sexual orientation carry with them certain responsibilities and certain rights that people of other races, genders and sexual orientations don't share?

"All those who are citizens of this country regardless of race or religion are my equal in terms of rights and responsibilities in my eyes."-Are all those who share your race regardless of citizenship, gender or sexual orientation also your equal? How about all those who share your gender or sexual orientation, but differ in some other birth characteristic?

There are many places today where one's race, gender and sexual orientation limits their rights and responsibilities, even if they share a common nationality. Most progressives shake their heads at the idea that one's fate in life should be determined by something over which one has not control since it was a characteristic of their birth.

For a straight male in Saudi Arabia, the importance of his gender gives him rights and responsibilities that women don't have. He probably accepts that gender as the most important birth characteristic. For an ethnic Han, his ascendant role in China gives him rights and responsibilities that other ethnic groups don't have. He probably thinks that the supremacy of ethnicity as the most important birth characteristic is natural thing. The same case could be made with regards to race for a white South African in the apartheid era or a white slaveholder before our Civil War.

For the Saudi male, the Chinese Han, and the South African (or American) white, gender, ethnicity and race, respectively, are easy to accept as the most important of the random birth characteristics, since each of them benefits from that belief system. They benefit from their status and have more rights and responsibilities than others.

For a modern American, using one's nationality as the most important random birth characteristic is much more acceptable than using race, gender, etc. to determine a person's level of rights and responsibilities. Our standard of living is better than most of the rest of the world, so the idea of using nationality to determine right and responsibilities that a person has is quite beneficial to us. Similarly the use of gender in Saudi Arabia, ethnicity in China, or race in South Africa is quite beneficial to the Saudi man, the Han Chinese, and the South African white.

In the case of who gets a donated heart, if the choice were presented to the Saudi man he would say that a man should receive priority over a woman, the Han would say that his ethnicity should receive priority over a non-Han recipient, and the South African white would say that a white should receive the heart instead of a black. All of these decisions would be based on factors over which the potential recipients themselves had no control.

If the decision in the case of whether this teenager should receive a donated heart comes down to where he was born, we might as well use his race, gender or sexual orientation as factors in making the decision. He had no control over where he was born, what his gender is, what his race/ethnicity is, or what his sexual orientation is.

[AllentownJake]

35. It is in a United States Hospital

I would expect to be treated no different in a Chinese hospital, a South African Hospital, or Saudi hospital.

This is an issue of economics not citizenship however. A rich Chinese, Saudi or South African citizen would be treated better than the poorest American in America.

This is not an ethnic issue, there is a legal distinction on who is a citizen is or not.

[BuddhaGirl]

34. see posts #12 and #33

n/t

[AllentownJake]

36. Yes

and I've responded to this nonsense. Citizen of the World is a bullshit term. It has no legal basis or anything else to back it up. It's a nonsense idea created by the same type of people who embraced Nafta and other nonsense.

[BuddhaGirl]

44. hmm and where does compassion fit in to your worldview?

you would really let an undocumented child die? I know the boy in question is a citizen, but if he wasnt...?

I don't think I want to live in your world :-(

[wolfgangmo]

41. "and as such am held to the account of the decisions my leaders make."

Here he is folks.

The man we can hold responsible for the mess called Wall Street.

[AllentownJake]

42. I am responsible

as is every other US citizen....William Wilberforce personally took responsibility for the slave trade and 20 years later, it was no longer a part of the British Empire.

[wolfgangmo]

40. It's a medical decision - not a citizenship decision.

Transplants are decided by a committee of doctors and other medical professionals including ethicists who grade applications on established criteria.

But to ask your red herring, er, question it goes to the person who applied and was accepted under the selection criteria. FYI there are agreements between countries to share donation of organs if one has a surplus (rarely but it does happen).

I must say that I am not sure what your point is in asking this question. What answer are you hoping to elicit?

[LeftishBrit]

29. Yes. Or if the need is equal, then the one most likely to benefit; i.e. the best tissue match

If it was my heart or that of a loved one (and I have signed an organ donor card, as have most of my family members) I don't care if it goes to a British citizen, an illegal immigrant's child, or someone who lives in Timbuktu - just as long as someone's life can be saved.

[MercutioATC]

6. The "undocumented family" thing is a strawman.

He's a U.S. citizen and is entitled to the same services as any other U.S. citizen.

...and I don't see anything that suggests he's being denied those services, certainly not because of his family's "undocumented" status.

[AllentownJake]

7. It says in the article the boy himself is an illegal immigrant

So in this case, it is not a strawman.

[MercutioATC]

8. This is a quote from the OP:

"The TV station aired the story again this morning and said they had received so many calls that they felt they needed to clarify that Eduardo is a US citizen."

I wonder what his true status is.

[AllentownJake]

9. They are guilty of some bad reporting than

and need to edit their article on the web if he is in fact a citizen

"Another obstacle the family faces is that Eduardo is an illegal immigrant. His supporters said they're aware of a national climate that might oppose the teen getting help"

[MercutioATC]

14. Since the illegal immigrant claim precedes the clarification, I'm betting it's inaccurate.

...but it's hard to tell when the station publishes conflicting reports.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. The TV station says he's a citizen but his family is undocumented

[MercutioATC]

19. If that's the case, this is NOT an "illegal immigrant" issue.

It's just another story about somebody who can't afford an organ transplant.

[AllentownJake]

20. Yep

It is a case of money than. If the kid was part of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia, it wouldn't be an issue.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. But his mom doesn't speak English! That makes him unworthy!

Like I said read the comments from the locals. That's what prompted me to post this. Many are assuming the kid is illegal because he's Hispanic and his mom speaks Spanish. It doesn't help that the reporting is shoddy. But the message the locals are sending out is that a kid who is undocumented should just die.

[meow2u3]

12. Are we teabag terrorists? Or DUers?

Take your pick. Real DUers don't let anyone die needlessly.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. +1

[AndrewP]

16. Yep

[MercutioATC]

18. We live in a world of limited resources.

As such, plenty of people "die needlessly" every day.

[madrchsod]

23. yup......

[Rhythm]

32. Exactly. n/t

[dkf]

27. What happens if he does get a new heart?

Doesn't being a transplant recipient require a whole lot of future care also? Anti rejection drugs and lots of oversight are needed. How can he ever get health insurance if his parents can't work legally? Does this make him a bad candidate for a scarce heart?

[sandnsea]

37. My mom was on Medicaid and got one

I don't know that the ability to pay for all those drugs is factored in. They will give them to people without insurance, or as in the case of Arkansans, those unfortunate enough to live in a state whose Medicaid doesn't cover ALL prescription drugs. I think the main consideration is the ability to follow through with the health regiment, including no drinking, smoking, dietary if necessary, etc.

[jtrockville]

28. Do we know the value of his assets? Can he work?

Those seem to be the criteria for determining who gets health care in the USA and who doesn't.
Uniquely American!

[The Straight Story]

31. pffft Cheney has lived without a heart for 70 years, kid will be fine (nt)

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. LOL!

[LWolf]

33. Depends upon who "we" are.

If "we" are ethical people, the answer is a resounding NO. We don't let him die.

If "we" are nationalists who hate "illegals," or people who benefit politically by scapegoating them, then yes, because "we" lack the empathy that makes us humane.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

45. I certainly hope an otherwise healthy person dies prematurely so this fellow can get a heart

A point often overlooked in these transplant stories.

I hope this guy is okay insofar as I hope everyone is okay, but there is an implied downside to a surplus of hearts and livers.