THOMAS: Why Obamacare may beget euthanasia

The Washington Times ^ | 2-18-09 | Cal Thomas

[JZelle]

Thanks to former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey and her recent essay on Bloomberg.com titled "Ruin your health with the Obama stimulus plan," we know of another problem with the just-passed stimulus bill, one that may threaten the lives of many Americans.

Mrs. McCaughey discovered buried in the bill a new bureaucracy called the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. Among other things, it means a Washington official will "monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective." Some of that occurs now, but this would take it to a whole new level.

The idea comes straight from former Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle's 2008 book "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis" in which he says that doctors are going to have to give up their autonomy and "learn to operate less like solo practitioners." Inevitably, this means the government will decide who gets lifesaving treatment and who doesn't. It is survival of the fittest in practice. Thank you, and belated happy birthday, Charles Darwin.

I called Dr. Koop, who is now 92. He reminded me that in 1988 he had an ailment that left him a quadriplegic. Surgery restored his limbs, but "if I'd lived in England, I would have been nine years too old to have the surgery that saved my life and gave me another 21 years."

[G Larry]

Please refer to my tagline....

[NonValueAdded]

You have the right obligation to die.

[freespirited]

Thank you, and belated happy birthday, Charles Darwin.

Cal, please get the facts straight. Darwin never supported this sort of thing and opposed state-sponsored eugenics.