OMG, DEATH PANEL!
Liberals have decided to attack a Texas law about end of life care as a "death panel". (Mainly because it is Texas and they can blame Bush.)
The huge problem for liberals?
Fact: the statute clearly states that the patients wishes are supreme. Liberals claim a doctor can go against a patient's wishes.
Fact: patients will continue to receive life-sustaining treatment. Liberals claim that doctors can withdraw treatment against the wishes of a patient, effectively killing them. (Death panel!)
Fact: the hospital reserves the right to have the patient transfered if they disagree with treatment. (The horror!)
Fact: the law was written with the help of a coalition of patient's rights advocates, hospital stakeholders (including physician groups) and national right to life advocates. (Oh noes, diversity!)
Fact: Republican legislators are part of a group working to expand the "waiting period" for transfer to give patients and families more time to arrange a transfer or decide to end care.
Not much of a "death panel" law when you look at the facts, is it? Even more amusing is that the law was passed to strengthen patient rights after the Terri Schiavo case. That evil Bush strikes again! One more thing: some of the most strident critics of the law are pro-life groups. Damn those conservatives!
Not surprisingly, they're waging an edit war at ikipedia in an attempt to make the article anti-Bush and OMG DEATH PANEL in nature. (And it's not so surprising that they don't link to the actual statute, either.)
The huge problem for liberals?
Fact: the statute clearly states that the patients wishes are supreme. Liberals claim a doctor can go against a patient's wishes.
Fact: patients will continue to receive life-sustaining treatment. Liberals claim that doctors can withdraw treatment against the wishes of a patient, effectively killing them. (Death panel!)
Fact: the hospital reserves the right to have the patient transfered if they disagree with treatment. (The horror!)
Fact: the law was written with the help of a coalition of patient's rights advocates, hospital stakeholders (including physician groups) and national right to life advocates. (Oh noes, diversity!)
Fact: Republican legislators are part of a group working to expand the "waiting period" for transfer to give patients and families more time to arrange a transfer or decide to end care.
Not much of a "death panel" law when you look at the facts, is it? Even more amusing is that the law was passed to strengthen patient rights after the Terri Schiavo case. That evil Bush strikes again! One more thing: some of the most strident critics of the law are pro-life groups. Damn those conservatives!
Not surprisingly, they're waging an edit war at ikipedia in an attempt to make the article anti-Bush and OMG DEATH PANEL in nature. (And it's not so surprising that they don't link to the actual statute, either.)