3 arrested in Katrina euthanasia case

A doctor and two nurses were arrested Monday for allegedly practicing euthanasia at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina. The three medical staffers were each arrested for second-degree murder. The three are accused of injecting patients with lethal doses of Morphine and Versed. "This is not euthanasia. This is homicide," Attorney General Charles Foti said. "We're talking about people who pretended that maybe they were God." Dr. Anna Pou, 50, of New Orleans and nurses Lori Budo, 43, of New Orleans and Cheri Landry, 49, of Metaire were the three arrested. Pou, a nose and throat physician, was arrested in her hospital scrubs Monday night at LSU Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge. The trio allegedly intentionally killed multiple patients by administering or helping administer lethal doses of the two drugs. The investigation was sparked following Katrina and eventually led to a Lifecare Hospitals statement that reported possible euthanasia of patients at Memorial Medical Center. "I believe this case is a strong one and that these charges are based on sound legal and medical evidence. I also believe that there may be more arrests and victims that cannot be mentioned at this time and that this case is not over yet. While I am aware of the horrendous conditions that existed after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and left so many stranded without food, water, electricity and the basic necessities, I believe that there is no excuse for intentionally killing another living human being." Lifecare Hospitals is an extended stay intensive care unit located on the seventh floor of Memorial Medical Center that sub-leases with the hospital. The four patients that received lethal injections were residents of Lifecare at the time of the incident, ranging from ages 62 through 91. Only the initials and date of birth of victims were released. No charges have yet been filed. "[Foti] could charge up or he could charge down," said Kris Wartelle, public information director for the Louisiana Attorney Generals office. The incident is reported to have taken place on Sept. 1, 2005, three days following the landfall of Katrina. Hospital conditions and human fatigue were setting in by that time and could have been a contributor to such a decision by medical staff, according to LSU associate sociology Professor Sung Joon Jang. He believes the three accused were likely trying to help and meant no ill harm. "Their motive was to do something good," Jang said. "At the time it was probably their best judgement. Of course when you do something like this, it brings in the moral and physiological principles and legal questions that must be addressed. No matter what their decision, their motives could have still been questioned." Jang said that euthanasia is more common in Europe, where people are pressured into the act by social pressures that lead to an individual asking for termination as their preference. He says that in some cases where a sick parent becomes dependent on their child, some parents choose death and ask for assistance when conducting the act. On the other hand, there are children that choose to terminate their parents because of the pressures applied upon them. If the child takes his parents life without consent, it is murder, which is what allegedly happened at Memorial Medical Center. "Doctors are sworn not to harm patients," Jang said. "It's reasonable to expect such an act is not common. The question is if the patient was aware of what was happening." Jang believes the accused three were acting out of compassion, but in Louisiana, euthanasia is against the law. "The fact is, the law was broken and it is my job to seek justice for the victims in this case," Foti said. "It gives me no pleasure to report what happened here today and my heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those victims."

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