Free Republic

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, one of the chief architects of the Affordable Care Act, says people should want to die at age 75. “Let’s face it, the vast majority of those over age 75 have nothing positive to contribute to society,” Emanuel wrote in an essay for Atlantic. “In both physical and mental terms they’re pretty accurately described as ‘decepit.’ Their bodies and minds are just rotting in their shells.” “It would be best if they could be persuaded to exit peacefully at their own hand—perhaps with the aid of a physician-prescribed suicide drug,” Emanuel suggested. “Heaven knows this would be...

>Details: An elderly husband and wife have announced their plans to die in the world’s first ‘couple’ euthanasia – despite neither of them being terminally ill.Instead the pair fear loneliness if the other one dies first from natural causes.Identified only by their first names, Francis, 89, and Anne, 86, they have the support of their three adult children who say they would be unable to care for either parent if they became widowed.The children have even gone so far as to find a practitioner willing to carry out the double killings on the grounds that the couple’s mental anguish constituted...

Reuters) - The secret marriage this year of a 96-year-old Virginia woman and a 95-year-old man has drawn the scrutiny of a judge, who has ruled the marriage may be illegal, a lawyer said on Tuesday. Judge James Clark of the Alexandria Circuit Court ruled this month that the marriage between Eddie Harrison and Edith Hill may not be legally binding and ordered Hill's attorney, Jessica Niesen, to investigate it. The legality of the marriage surfaced during a custodial dispute over who should care for Hill, who was ruled legally incapacitated in 2011. Hill's granddaughter, Rebecca Wright, and daughter Patricia...

Those who have left the workforce long ago or are now on fixed incomes are in for a rude awakening if the union goons and agitators of the Democratic Party get their way. A catastrophic rise of a new minimum wage to $15/hr would certainly make their standard of living deteriorate on an order of magnitude not seen since Jimmy Carter's 9th inning as Wimp In Chief. Consider. As businesses attempt to survive the new artificial input costs of labor imposed on them, they can 1) reduce the amount of labor; 2) invest in new IT and/or machinery in hopes...

Details have begun to emerge about the man arrested for the murder of a great grandmother beheaded in her back garden. He was named locally as Nicholas Salvadore, a 25-year-old would-be cage fighter who is believed to be a Muslim convert, who had been living a few doors from 82-year-old Palmira Silva. Salvadore was under arrest and under armed guard in hospital today after the events in a street in north London yesterday. Detectives say they have ruled out terrorism as a motive. Italian-born Mrs Silva, who owned a local café in Edmonton with her son Tony for more than...

Paul Ryan proposed a private health insurance alternative to Medicare for future retirees, liberal critics pounced. It’s another scheme to undermine health care for the elderly by “privatizing” and “voucher-izing” the program, they said.Yet, almost one third of seniors are already in private health insurance plans. They are called Medicare Part C, or Medicare Advantage, plans. And you would be hard pressed to find any Democratic office holder who wants to abolish them. The reason? Seniors choose to be in these plans because they like them better than traditional Medicare.Not only do seniors like them, but they appear to provide...

After nearly 62 years of marriage, little separated Don and Maxine Simpson — not even death. The Bakersfield couple died just four hours apart in July, spending their last moments side by side. He was 90 and she was 87. Granddaughter Melissa Sloan tells The Bakersfield Californian that her grandmother died first, and when her body was taken away, Don Simpson’s soul left with her.

Her hearing isn't great, and her legs are weakening too. She doesn't have much appetite either, often finishing only a small portion of her meals. But you will never hear Madam Chua Sua Teh complaining about her age. Indeed, the 100-year-old woman can still play a mean game of Wii bowling. Despite the usual effects of ageing, Madam Chua is simply happy that she has hit the 100-year mark this year. She told The New Paper last Thursday in Teochew: "I don't worry myself with thoughts about death or illness, I simply live one day at a time, and make...

San Diego Padres and Petco Park welcomed Agnes McKee to celebrate her 105th birthday in a very special wayAgnes McKee's birthday celebration wasn't just a first for her. It was also a first for Major League Baseball. At 105, McKee threw out the first pitch before Sunday’s San Diego Padres game and became the oldest person ever to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. “I haven’t thrown a ball in years,” she said before the game. “I do Wii Bowling which we do like this,” she said gesturing. “So it’s the same thing.” “Other than that, nothing on this scale...

No, the United States isn’t trying to build a military force of centenarians. It just seems that way after the Selective Service System mistakenly sent notices to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania men born between 1893 and 1897, ordering them to register for the nation’s military draft and warning that failure to do so is “punishable by a fine and imprisonment.” The agency realized the error when it began receiving calls from bewildered relatives last week. Chuck Huey, 73, of Kingston, said he got a notice addressed to his late grandfather Bert Huey, a World War I veteran who was born...

Many Baby Boomers already dread “the talk” –- suggesting their aging parents surrender car keys –- but now two geriatric experts say another thorny, family question must be asked of some elderly folks. Is it time to give up your gun? In a recently published paper, the two physicians offer a five-point checklist meant to help caregivers assess whether firearms remain safe in the hands and homes of older Americans, particularly if the gun owners are exhibiting unclear thinking or depression. “Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M....

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced July 1 that it is selling six nursing homes and one assisted living facility operated by archdiocesan Catholic Health Care Services to a Flushing, New York, health care management company for $145 million. The company, Center Management Group, owns and operates 15 nursing homes in New York and New Jersey. Under the agreement, the company has pledged to maintain the Catholic character of the nursing homes. The date for the sale has not been set. The $145 million sale price for the nursing homes will be decreased by certain obligations under the terms of the...

William Nunn had to steady himself on a walking frame as he gave Jean away for a second time - she met Mike Garnham on a sailing holidayA proud father celebrated his 100th birthday by walking his 70-year-old daughter down the aisle. William Nunn had to steady himself on a walking frame as he gave Jean away for the second time. She first wed in 1976, but her husband died and she has found love again with widower Mike Garnham, 67. The couple, who met on a sailing holiday, married in a register office watched by 16 friends and family.

WASHINGTON — Over the past decade, more than 1,000 veterans may have died as a result of misconduct by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a report released Tuesday by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. “Too many men and women who bravely fought for our freedom are losing their lives, not at the hands of terrorists or enemy combatants, but from friendly fire in the form of medical malpractice and neglect by the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Coburn said in a letter addressed to taxpayers, which was attached to the report. In a press release, Coburn said the...

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge reversed his own ruling, permitting Casey Kasem’s daughter, Kerri Kasem, to remove her father’s food and hydration (via feeding tube), which will result in his death by starvation and dehydration. Kasem’s wife of 33 years, Jean Kasem, is fighting for the life of her husband, with her attorney, Steve Haney, calling the judge’s decision, “the functional equivalent of a death sentence.”Growing up in the 70’s, I was introduced to Casey Kasem’s easy to recognize voice as each week he counted down “American Top 40″ hits for almost four decades on a radio show heard...

Radio personality Casey Kasem has been taken off life support after a judge ruled Wednesday that daughter Kerri Kasem could start withholding medication, food and fluids. Mr. Kasem, 82, is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, sepsis and dementia, the Detroit Free Press reported. “Transitioning our father’s treatment to comfort-oriented care was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make,” Kerri wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. “For people who do not understand the natural dying process: Giving food and water to a dying body creates pain and further suffering,” she wrote in a later post. “The body does not...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Casey Kasem, host of the "American Top 40" countdown for four decades, remained in critical condition at a Washington state hospital on Sunday and was being treated for an infected bedsore, a hospital spokesman said. Kasem, who was also the voice of Shaggy in the "Scooby-Doo" cartoons and one of the most recognisable voices on American radio, was admitted to St Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor last week. The 82-year-old former DJ has been alert throughout his hospitalisation, receiving wound care, intravenous antibiotic therapy, blood pressure support medication and treatment for his pain, hospital spokesman Scott...

Make no mistake, Fox News is still the ratings king. But the recent May numbers show that while all the cable channels had a decline in ratings (which is normal for May), Fox News was far from spared, with some of its lowest ratings in 12 years. While Fox dominates with the top 14 shows in overall viewers, the total day average for Fox News in the key advertising demographic of the 25- to 54-year-old category was 177,000 viewers, only the second time Fox has gone below a 200,000 average since 2001. Another key factor coming from May ratings is...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Award-winning author, renowned poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou has died. She was 86. Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines confirmed Angelou was found by her caretaker on Wednesday morning.

On May 7, the Obama administration boasted that ObamaCare was improving health-care quality for seniors, and it pulled out a bag of statistical tricks to prove it. But a closer look shows that it’s not improving care. It’s skimping on it, socking seniors with unexpected bills for “observation care” and likely shortening their lives. President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services announced that fewer seniors discharged from the hospital are returning for additional care within a month’s time. HHS claims that this drop in “readmissions,” from 18.5 percent in 2012 to 17.5 percent in 2013, signals quality improvement. Nationwide,...