Really, Newt? Really?: The Issue of the "Death Panels"

I always knew Newt Gingrich and I disagreed on a lot of things, but after his many appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I felt I could take comfort in the fact that while we disagreed, he was still an intelligent, reasonable man. This weekend my image of Mr. Gingrich was shattered.

Last week, on 9 August, Newt defended Sarah Palin's outrageous claim that President Obama's health care plan included a certain "death panel" where "government bureaucrats" would decide whether a very ill person was worth saving. Just for the record, there is no "death panel" in ANY of the proposed health care plans currently in Congress. The only thing remotely close to that outrageous claim is on page 425 of the House Democrats bill, which is about "Advanced Care Planning", which "includes living wills and durable powers of attorney that allow individuals to make clear their wishes for end-of-life care, whatever they may be." This is no death panel, it's the options I'd like to have if I was terminally ill with cancer or whatnot. These are the protections that would allow people to die with dignity and hopefully in less agony, and the Republicans are twisting it around for political advantage.

Actually, a similar program was actually proposed by a PRO-LIFE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA). Two years ago Senator Isakson co-sponsored two bills - The Medicare End-of-Life Planning Act and the Advanced Planning and Compassionate Care Act - that championed the case of advanced planning. To date, Isakson has remained conspicuously silent on the issue. On the other hand, at least someone in the Republcian Party understands the merits of advanced care.

I should also mention that we already have death panels that decide whether you're worth saving or not. They're called private insurance companies, and they do it every day. Perhaps if Sarah Palin's health insurance company was slightly less generous (aka, treated her like the rest of us) about her disabled son, Trig, maybe she'd be singing a different tune.