Didn't the Nuremberg Protocols determine that "I was only following orders" was not an excuse for murder? Why isn't she guilty of 1st degree murder? https://t.co/vUDKEPPJH8
— Stephen Coughlin (@S_Coughlin_DC) August 31, 2026
When I was in anesthesiology residency training, they asked me to go up to ICU and bring down a brain dead man to become an organ donor. Well, I hadn't really thought about that very much and so I asked him "Gee, brain dead. Is there anything I need to know about this? It's my first time doing this."
And, and my staff man just rolled his eyes and said, "Just be sure someone has actually declared him brain dead. You know how eager to transplant team can be."
Well I went up there and I found my patient and you know he didn't look dead. His heart was beating. He had a good blood pressure, good heart rate. His oxygen saturation was great. He looked just like every other ICU patient I'd taken care of, and in fact better than most. And in my gut, I knew something was wrong but I'd been taught by my authorities that that this man was dead. So I came back to the operating room and I found the staff anesthesiologist who was going to be supervising me and I presented the case to him. And he asked me for my anesthetic plan of care. And I said well, I think I'll use a paralyzing agent because you know surgeons get crabby when people move during surgery. I'll give him some fentanyl to blunt any heart rate or blood pressure swings that might damage his organs. And the doctor looked at me and he said, "Well, are you going to give him anything to block consciousness?"
I was stunned. I said, "Well, why would I do that? Isn't isn't he dead?" And he just gave me this long slow look over his surgical mask and he said, "Why don't you give one just in case?" and he walked away.
Brandon, my gut was telling me this is wrong, something is really going on wrong here. But you know I've, may God forgive me, I caved to my authorities and the push that everyone was taking to take this man and get this case done. And I did what I was told. I took the man to the operating room. I gave him the anesthesia we had planned to do and I'm here to tell you that he reacted to the incisions, to the foamssage, to the removal of pieces of him, just like any other patient. He required the same types in the same amounts of anesthesia.
And you know later I told this story to a friend of mine who's a pathologist, and you know what, she told me when she removes organs during an autopsy in the morgue she doesn't need to give any of these drugs. So this is what set me on this journey to find . . .
