A week or so ago the Dutch were outraged to learn that Rick Santorum had mistakenly inflated their euthanasia stats. It's not 10% of deaths; it's more like 2% of deaths!
Oh. Okay then. Only 2% of Dutch deaths annually are from euthanasia. This, of course, goes to show once again how backward and mendacious Rick Santorum is, and how fanatically obsessed with the "social issues". How embarrassing for America that someone like him could even be considered for President.
Hopefully, whoever gets the Republican nomination will not be gauche enough to have any concerns about the fact that thousands of people are killed by euthanasia every year by government subsidized medicine in Holland; (how many scores of thousands would 2% of annual American deaths be, I wonder?); that by law, children as young as 12 can request to be euthanized (they'd have to have their parents' consent until they're 15), or that, starting just this week, the Dutch have launched an innovative mobil euthanasia unit to visit "sick people" whose personal doctors decline to kill them.
The Dutch, who fought the Nazi's in World War II, are so ahead of the international curve in government-provided healthcare benefits, that they are offering this service free of charge.
The launch of the so-called Levenseinde, or "Life End", house-call units – whose services are being offered to Dutch citizens free of charge – coincides with the opening of a clinic of the same name in The Hague, which will take patients with incurable illnesses as well as others who do not want to die at home.
And meanwhile, Obama is having trouble getting even a contraception mandate through. Maybe he could take a page from the Dutch here. Instead of having insurance companies cover it, he could just set up government funded mobile morning after pill units in every town?
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Comments:
Aug '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
I agree with you on this. Now can we get Santorum to talk about something that doesn't embarrass us with any more Europeans ( and that includes everybody in Washington, NY,Boston,LA, and SF - they're Europeans too aren't they ?).
Gosh I feel so provincial. Goldurnit
Jun '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
I, for one, don't care a whole lot if the Dutch are angry at Rick Santorum. This whole euthanasia thing is truly creepy.
As my Mom was dying last year, while also in the depths of dementia, there were many times when my heart told me it would be a great blessing if she could die. But the thought that some government-appointed Dr. Death would hasten the natural process even by an hour seems to me an offense against the victim and the whole moral order.
As it happens, God called her home when the time was right.
Oct '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Katie, I usually follow up on Ricochet posts that catch my attention, but I'm just going to have to take you at your word on this. I refuse to research it myself, it's just too ugly. The celebration of freedom from the burdens of life decays into subsidized death. Dr. Painless is a social service, and he makes house calls.
Corruption at this scale makes all our debates about small things like presidential nominations recede.
Do you read Doris Lessing, by any chance? I'm remembering Shikasta more and more frequently these days, and seeing the criminal realm of Shammat (?) way too often. I hope she was right and there's light on the other side, because there is an awful reckoning to come.
Sep '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
It turns out that human life is anathema to the Left. Even here Kathleen Sibelius is saying the contraception mandate will pay for itself by saving in pregnancy costs far more money that the expense of the contraceptives.
So the Left insists on everything "for the children:" free school, free kindergarten, free food, free housing, free health care, free prenatal care etc. etc. Then, when they've got all they want, they conclude that children cost too much, and it's better to do without them.
Best of all, if they're never born, it saves future governments the cost of putting them to death!
Edited on March 3, 2012 at 3:45amAug '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Tab pegs it with the help of our God.
Apr '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
I remember reading an article in The Weekly Standard that claimed that an astonishing number of Dutch doctors admit to euthanizing infants without the parent's knowledge or consent.
Apr '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
I found the article.
Here.
It's from 2004, but Lancet study found that
8% of all infants who die in the Netherlands are killed by their pediatrician.
45% of neo-natalists and31% peditricians have killed a child
21% of these deaths occurred without the parents consent
But, yeah, Rick Santorum is an idiot.
Aug '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
billy,where the heck were the parents as they expressed this thought ?smoking dope ?in Holland ...how in amstels rear could that occur ?"
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Kinsey says that 2% of the population is homosexual. Militant gays say it's really 10%. There. Even swap. Quit yer gripin' !
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
My Dutch husband's cousin is a pediatrician. As part of her training she had to "observe" a euthanasia. A young woman, wanting to spend her life helping and healing--compelled by law to "assist" at a deliberate killing as part of her medical training.
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Here's an idea:
Our utilitarian society is all about cutting costs and efficiencies of scale and all that, right? Maybe we could have one "mobile unit" of "specially trained doctors" to handle, "emergency contraception," abortions, "after-birth abortions," euthanasia and assisted suicides.
"Death mobiles" would be too crude--too abhorrently Palinesque—a name for them, though. We would call them "National Quality-of-life Mobiles," or NoQOLMs for short.
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
When I was pregnant in Liechtenstein and my appendix ruptured, I was petrified that some progressive Swiss doctor would decide while I was anesthetized that the best thing to do all around would be to remove the baby with the infection. Give me a clean start.
So I've had a taste of the fear of death-dealing doctors.
Aug '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Keep the edge of the taste of your fear sharp.Gird it for war , there are seasons of hell approaching.
Apr '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
katievs: Here's an idea:
Our utilitarian society is all about cutting costs and efficiencies of scale and all that, right? Maybe we could have one "mobile unit" of "specially trained doctors" to handle, "emergency contraception," abortions, "after-birth abortions," euthanasia and assisted suicides.
"Death mobiles" would be too crude--too abhorrently Palinesque—a name for them, though. We would call them "National Quality-of-life Mobiles," or NoQOLMs for short. · 5 minutes ago
I love the British acronym- the NICE board ( National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)
But to further your idea, perhaps we could have special camps... er, resorts to evaluate potential candidates for early compassionate expiration.
Nov '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
"...which will take patients with incurable illnesses as well as others who do not want to die at home."
"Becoming sick and harboring suspicion are sinful to them: one proceeds carefully. A fool, whoever still stumbles over stones or human beings! A little poison now and then: that makes for agreeable dreams. And much poison in the end, for an agreeable death."
Mar '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
billy
katievs: Here's an idea:
Our utilitarian society is all about cutting costs and efficiencies of scale and all that, right? Maybe we could have one "mobile unit" of "specially trained doctors" to handle, "emergency contraception," abortions, "after-birth abortions," euthanasia and assisted suicides.
"Death mobiles" would be too crude--too abhorrently Palinesque—a name for them, though. We would call them "National Quality-of-life Mobiles," or NoQOLMs for short. · 5 minutes ago
I love the British acronym- the NICE board ( National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)
But to further your idea, perhaps we could have special camps... er, resorts to evaluate potential candidates for early compassionate expiration. · 48 minutes ago
Perhaps all citizens could be sent an L-pill (familiar to all spy movie fans) on their seventieth birthday. No compulsion of course.
Nov '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Just for the sake of being contrarian, I'm going to throw myself into this.
Katie, you do yourself an injustice by how you wrote your original post.
First, you ran afoul of Godwins Law right at the beginning.
Second, you conflated two different issues: Euthanasia and socialized medicine.
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
billy: I found the article.
Here.
It's from 2004,
Thanks, Billy. I've just linked it on Facebook. I wonder if my Dutch relatives will unfriend me.
They think I'm extreme.
May '10
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
Fred Cole: Just for the sake of being contrarian, I'm going to throw myself into this.
Katie, you do yourself an injustice by how you wrote your original post.
First, you ran afoul of Godwins Law right at the beginning.
Second, you conflated two different issues: Euthanasia and socialized medicine. · 10 minutes ago
I don't see how Godwin's law binds me to set aside the moral experience of WW II.
Nor did I do any conflating. If you can't see the connection between socialized medicine and the utilitarian philosophy underlying the culture of death, you are obtuse.
A truculent and obtuse anarchist (to throw that contrariness right back at you.)
Edited on March 3, 2012 at 4:04pmNov '11
Re: The Enlightened, Tolerant Dutch Out in Front with Government Medicine, While Rick Santorum Embarrasses America
katievs
A truculent and obtuse anarchist. · 20 minutes ago
Edited 18 minutes ago
One wonders what you edited out of that.
By including Nazis in the post,anyone who might disagree with you is already on the side of History's Greatest Monsters. It poisons honest discussion.
Utilitarianism doesn't enter into it. You're conflating voluntary assisted suicide with involuntary state murder on utilitarian grounds.
Those mobile units are not state death mobiles there to kill off unwilling cancer patients who are a drain on the state. They're there to visit dying people whose doctors refuse to assist them with suicide.