November 4, 2003
"HEALTH CARE" A LA MR. POTTER:
There is no dignity in our death culture (Elizabeth Nickson, October 31, 2003, National Post)
Perhaps the culture of death my generation has unwittingly created will only come home to roost when, in our creaky 80s, we face the Futile Care Committee at our local hospital, to be told, well, it's simply too expensive to keep you alive any longer, buster. Inappropriate Care Protocols rule. Say your prayers, and your goodbyes, the lady with the "Aussie Exit Bag" is coming, next Tuesday at 11 o'clock. Death with Dignity. Good of the State. Here's the extension of the Therapeutic Grieving Committee. You can have whatever music you want. '70s? '80s? '60s? My, you are old. And by the way? We're feeling particularly compassionate this morning.How likely is this? Pretty much inevitable. Thirty more years of federal Liberal health care mismanagement will make it necessary. The drugs for assisted suicide cost about $40. As Derek Humphrey, co-founder of the Hemlock Society, wrote, in his recent Freedom to Die, "the hastened demise of people with only a short time to live would free resources for others," an amount he predicts would run into the "hundreds of billions of dollars." That'll sure help with our ever-yawning debt.
It's unpleasant to think of, I know. And so what, right? We already see life and death through a utilitarian prism. In Canada, where only a few are willing to discuss our failing medical system, we have to be modern. We've spent our way into it.
It's a pretty short step from "life not worth living" to life not worth the State paying for. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 4, 2003 6:49 PM
She is consistently terrific and gorgeous to boot. Not that that matters, of course.
Posted by: Peter B at November 4, 2003 7:58 PMForget about the actual medical costs - the real issue will be much higher entitlement taxes. Sometime before 2020, and American politician is going to revive the statement "a duty to die" in order to preserve SS and Medicare. And people will listen.
Posted by: jim hamlen at November 4, 2003 8:43 PMI'm guessing not old people.
Posted by: Timothy at November 4, 2003 10:01 PMI was just wanted to ask if you had a very Merry Christmas / Holiday, and to wish you the very best for the New Year.
BTW, In saw something on another blog site I think it is a good idea to let as many people / bloggers know about. I was just organizing my vacation for later this year and stumbled across the above web site about Bali, where I was considering going. But just read what it says there and especially between the lines; unreal. A travel agent there Bali Discovery Tours of Sanur went to their friend the police chief and made trouble for someone visiting the island who had caught this travel agent offering unauthorized room rates on the Internet for the Hotel Santika Beach in Kuta, which is where I was going to stay, but thank God I am not now (I am not even going to Bali becuase of this) - seems to me like the hotel did not exactly help!
The poor guy was detained by the police for 4 days and had his passport illegally seized. He was not released until the British Embassy filed a formal complaint. Of course, there were no charges!! This is absolutely terrible. Please, please, please, join me in saying "Stuff Bali - I'm going somewhere where they treat people like guests, not enemies".