July 6, 2009 8:19 AM
Got Disabilities? Beware Obama health plan
I know a lot of the disability community tends to be Democrat and liberal, but folks, it's really time to rethink things. Your president, who you imbue with more warm fuzzies than he deserves, is at heart a cold and calculating man whose politics - based on Marxism - lead to the kind of utilitarian thinking we have seen flashes of - and which we cannot ignore!"President Obama suggested at a town hall event Wednesday night that one way to shave medical costs is to stop expensive and ultimately futile procedures performed on people who are about to die and don't stand to gain from the extra care."I hope you see where this is going. I looked around my dinner table last night at four young men with Down syndrome and reflected how in Nazi Germany they were considered expendable.
-- Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times
One of my adopted sons is Taiwanese - not because his parents didn't want him, but because his parents wanted the best future for him - and they could see that was in America.
We cannot allow the State to be in charge of who gets what services. Once the State identifies - no matter how subtly - that the old or the disabled are not worth the health care they need, it will foment fear and loathing in the general population toward that group, who will be perceived as wasting resources which should be reserved for the able-bodied.
Utilitarianism is an ugly thing.
I submit that this ugliness has already started. Here's a comment I received two days ago:
You need Obama healthcare to deliver your baby retards!The kind of hatred and ignorance that can produce this kind of remark is actually way beyond my understanding. The fact that it is the Democrat party and liberals who spew it on a regular basis - and who tolerate it in their fringe - is one of the greatest ironies of our time.
Some have suggested that the reason Our Smug and Glamorous Media are so over-the-top angry at Sarah Palin, so intent on destroying her (and oh what fools the American public to follow so blindly the whims of those who boosted a man with no experience other than a radical community organizer into the Presidency overlooking every red flag while shredding a state governor and her family) is because she dared to commit the sin of having a baby with Down syndrome.
The dirty little secret is that the pro-choice crowd is not pro-choice at all. And a baby with Down syndrome who slips through the cracks and is welcomed by his family is an affront to their sensibilities. I almost wish I hadn't stumbled into the Internet Hall of Shame concerning Trig Palin - the vile remarks, evil caricatures, and absolute hatred spewed out on an innocent child guilty of the crime of having an extra chromosome.
Our family gets a small share of this too. And I stand amazed that the Left continues to masquerade as the party of tolerance and compassion. Sometimes it feels like Alice in Wonderland, doesn't it?
You parents of kids with disabilities who have considered the Left your home and your friend better get wise to what lies ahead as under Obama's leadership our economy is destroyed and resources become rationed. The medical and educational riches we have had for our children - albeit sometimes with a fight, but always backed by law - will not be there for us.
I know this may be a new perspective for you, but - in the tradition of Paul Revere - I am sounding the alarm. Do not be persuaded that nationalized health care will be a blessing for your family. Truly, if your family includes a child who the government deems "less than" it will be a curse.
Posted in Disabilities, Health, Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
On the other side of the coin, as one of the able-bodied, I'm concerned that my government is going to force me into far more health care than I want or really need.
Posted by: Peggy | July 6, 2009 10:39 AM
I saw this coming during the elections: if Obama could care less about a baby born after after a "botched" abortion, (let it die), then of course that was the warning sign that he didn't care about life. Now we'll just see how deep it really goes. Julie
Posted by: Julie Kkekas | July 6, 2009 10:52 AM
Barbara - the thinking that dehumanizes others runs very, very deep. As an example - I recently had a meeting with Congressman Jim Langevin from Rhode Island. He's claiming credit for much of what is coming to the floor for universal health.
Being paralyzed from the waist down, he's completely utilitarian in his thinking because he thinks he stands to benefit from HESCR.
I discuss his viewpoints and our conversation here:
http://www.thrufire.com/blog/2009/07/congressman-langevins-fertilized-eggs/
Posted by: Chris Arsenault | July 6, 2009 11:15 AM
I think it's pretty accepted nationalized health care will mean rationing.
It's argued that we already have rationing, but it's split by class/economic situatioin (rather than by a person's "value" to the bureaucracy).
[Julana, as someone who spent months of Jonny's first 18 months in NICU and ICU, I saw many, many obvious cases of uninsured people accorded the finest care as social workers filled in the paperwork gap and got them the help they needed!! Only they didn't have to pay co-pays like we did.]
Posted by: Julana | July 6, 2009 11:43 AM
Your post is perceptive and on the mark.
Posted by: Watchtower | July 6, 2009 1:42 PM
Excellent article Chris! Thanks for the posting. It disturbs me that someone who would be considered by the proposed national health care standards to be beyond receiving any benefit from continued treatment for his paralysis would support the plan. Let alone the support for embryonic stem cell research. Next time you see him, ask him if he would mind if someone harvested his anterior cruciatic ligaments (ACL's) for replacement of another person's since he's not "using" his. Maybe that would put the whole embryonic stem cell issue into clearer focus for him. Harvesting parts from people just because they're not going to be "using" them (ie: in life outside of the freezer) is just wrong. I wonder if he's heard about the progress made with adult stem cell research in the case of paralysis...
Posted by: Sarah | July 6, 2009 1:56 PM
The company I work for helps children with special needs like autism. The suport for Obama was overwhelming. I couldn't believe it, especially after how many times Sara Palin talked about helping children!
I am very certain some of the causes of autism will be discovered before a cure and despite all the progress made at finding treatments that help many children live active, full lives babies with the indicators will end up being aborted.
Posted by: somebody | July 6, 2009 7:55 PM
