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passerineDisclaimer: I haven't read all of the health care bill. However, I doubt very many people have. I just want to debunk some of the obvious nonsense that is going around.
First of all, advanced care directives do not, in ANY universe, equal "mandatory euthanasia counseling for senior citizens!" This one is so off-base that I don't even know where to BEGIN. I guess I can begin by saying that euthanasia is euthanasia, and last I knew it was still generally illegal to deliberately kill human beings for such a purpose or even to aid a suicide attempt. However, removing someone with essentially no brain function from life support is NOT euthanasia. Comfort care and hospice programs are NOT euthanasia. Following a DNR order is NOT euthanasia. And besides, advanced care directives are about making sure that people make the decisions about what happens when they're incapacitated BEFORE IT HAPPENS - whatever that decision is. That means you don't have to sign any DNR order, you can pursue active treatment rather than comfort care to the bitter end, and you can request to be kept ON life support machines even if you're in a persistent vegetative state. If that's what you want, go for it.
Next, the nonsense about how the UK is allegedly refusing to perform heart surgery on anyone over age 59. Plenty of people from the UK have come forward to debunk this one, yet it persists. WHY?
And also that thing about "accepting the conditions that come with age" is referring to WRINKLES, not to HEART DISEASE. Talk about taking statements out of context.
First of all, advanced care directives do not, in ANY universe, equal "mandatory euthanasia counseling for senior citizens!" This one is so off-base that I don't even know where to BEGIN. I guess I can begin by saying that euthanasia is euthanasia, and last I knew it was still generally illegal to deliberately kill human beings for such a purpose or even to aid a suicide attempt. However, removing someone with essentially no brain function from life support is NOT euthanasia. Comfort care and hospice programs are NOT euthanasia. Following a DNR order is NOT euthanasia. And besides, advanced care directives are about making sure that people make the decisions about what happens when they're incapacitated BEFORE IT HAPPENS - whatever that decision is. That means you don't have to sign any DNR order, you can pursue active treatment rather than comfort care to the bitter end, and you can request to be kept ON life support machines even if you're in a persistent vegetative state. If that's what you want, go for it.
Next, the nonsense about how the UK is allegedly refusing to perform heart surgery on anyone over age 59. Plenty of people from the UK have come forward to debunk this one, yet it persists. WHY?
And also that thing about "accepting the conditions that come with age" is referring to WRINKLES, not to HEART DISEASE. Talk about taking statements out of context.