Betsy
McCaughey is a lying sack of shit fucking cow.* Not to mention intellectually dishonest. And she has teeth like a horse. Although the teeth thing really isn't pertinent.
For those of you who have never heard of this woman (as I hadn't, before Nathan frothed all over my e:mail), she's the former lieutenant governor of New York, and presumably a health care advocate. I say "presumably" because even though she has a foundation dedicated to the abatement of infectious disease in hospitals, she's apparently lost her fucking mind, and is now running all over the country trying to convince everyone that President Obama wants you to not only kill your grandmother, but eat her dead flesh, too.
Okay, that last part was hyperbole, but not by much.
She's been featured on every talk show on the planet that has a mentally challenged, narcoleptic fact checker, where she uses the venue to spout the idea that the new Health Care bill (H.R. 3200) would encourage you to kill your senior relatives:
...the Congress would make it mandatory … that every five years, people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how to end their life sooner, how to decline nutrition, how to decline being hydrated, how to go into hospice care … all to do what’s in society’s best interest … and cut your life short.
Really, Betsy?
Really? C'mon, now, we both know that's not what the bill says. In fact, the pertinent section of the bill reads:
H.R. 3200, page 425: Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:
(A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.
(B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.
(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning … .
(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.
(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders … .
So how does "end of life planning" suddenly become "you have a duty to die as soon as possible because it's in society's best interest, you blue-haired parasite?"
This is
exactly the kind of shit that I blogged about on
Saturday. Here's this incredibly important debate, and this
bloviating wackadoo is confusing the issue with her inflammatory rhetoric and outright falsehoods. And they
are falsehoods. The details of how many ways this crazy person is out in the weeds can be found over at
FackCheck.org, but the main issue is that she's spreading the misconception that "end of life services" are synonymous with "euthanasia," and nothing could be farther from the truth.
According to the National Library of Medicine, end of life services are defined as:
services [that] are available to help patients and their families deal with issues surrounding death." This can include making decisions about treatment, designating a health care proxy, choosing a hospice program and putting together a living will, all of which the bill mentions explicitly as being part of an advance care planning consultation. In a 2003 study, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that "[p]atients who talked with their families or physicians about their preferences for end-of-life care had less fear and anxiety, felt they had more ability to influence and direct their medical care, believed that their physicians had a better understanding of their wishes, and indicated a greater understanding and comfort level than they had before the discussion.
This is
not a discussion about euthanasia. It's a mature, thoughtful discussion about how to die with dignity, about adhering to
someone's wishes if they are no longer able to speak for themselves, about being respectful of our seniors and their wishes. It's about allowing gerontologists to bill Medicare for their services when they have these discussions with their patients. These are
adults we're talking about - they're capable of having these conversations with their health care providers, and quite frankly, many of them need the help. It's not like most people have a ton of experience with end of life decisions. And the help isn't "mandatory," as Ms.
McCaughey claims. It's initiated by the patient, not by some
Logan's Run Sandman who wants the senior to climb into the Carousel and take their chances.
I've had this discussion with my Hot Mom, and I have to say I wouldn't have it any other way. My Hot Sister and I both know what she wants, and she has everything squared away and ready to go in case she becomes debilitated or dies unexpectedly. Does that mean my Hot Sister and I want her to hurry up and drop dead so she can quit being such a burden on the U.S. entitlement system? Of course not. But if something
does happen unexpectedly, we'll know what to do. That's a Good Thing.
So what the fuck is wrong with Betsy
McCaughey, that she's running all over the country spreading lies about H.R. 3200? I wish I knew. If we had a handle on her motivation for all this fear-mongering, we'd be in a better position to address it (and her). Christ, even the
A.A.R.P. thinks she's off the deep end.
This woman is a grade A, freeze-dried
whackaloon. Please, Ms
McCaughey. Seek help. Before you run into Nathan on the street.
**********
*This piece is a Hot Chicks/Polybloggimous joint. Nathan was going to write it hisownself, but he inadvertently electrocuted himself by frothing all over his keyboard while doing research. So I've taken up the torch while he chews through his full-body cast in an effort to chase after Ms. McCaughey and beat her to death with a copy of H.R. 3200.