In order to avoid offending Homegirls and Homeboys here, I will refrain from posting a picture of the perpetrator. We all know what she looks like. Back in 2009, this Op-Ed was posted on HuffPo quoting Sarah Palin’s claim that what is now known as “Obamacare” would result in “death panels” that somehow would have decided ordered that her son Trig should be aborted.
Palin: Obama’s “Death Panel” Could Kill My Down Syndrome Baby
The Huffington Post Rachel Weiner First Posted: 09/07/09 06:12 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 02:50 PM ET
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has laid pretty low since resigning. But on her Facebook page, Palin suggested Friday that President Obama’s health care plan might kill her child.
I wonder why I do not hear allusive arguments today to Palin’s claims then. Given the now infamous “panel of men” assembled to decide exactly what kind and how much, if any, health care women should receive, I wonder where Palin is and all her followers who were crying “foul” in 2009?
There is plenty wrong with “Obamacare.” No one will deny that. The biggest fault, in my book, was the withdrawal of the single-payer option which would have obviated the conflict with religious institutions we all witnessed last week. What we did not get with Obamacare are “death panels.”
The Republicans, across the board, are bent on repealing Obamacare. Where do they attack first? Coverage of prescriptions and procedures known to be vital to women’s well-being and therefore family health and welfare. But I hear no voices harking back to Palin’s prognostication as this panel of men assembles to decide whether women live in pain and life-threatening conditions or receive the medications and procedures that mitigate these conditions.
Anyone who has lost a mother at a young age, Madonna and Rosie O”Donnell are two who come to mind, can attest to the devastation that brings to a family. There are ways, now, to prevent such losses to young families that were not available to mothers of their generation. My own mother lost her mom in childbirth when she was only six. That might have been prevented today. But Republicans think men, some of whom are educated in theology rather than medicine, should be the voices to be heeded.
Among the Republicans, and specifically among those running for President, there is one who seems to believe essentially what Palin did about “death panels” and all that horror.
I ran across this article in Jezebel today, and there is an opposing argument. The absolutely beautiful and healthy little baby, if pictures are worth a thousand words, is testament to the value of pre-natal testing and monitoring. This story is a must read.
Why Rick Santorum Would Have Killed My Daughter
Next month, my daughter Ella will turn 11 years old. She’s a beautiful girl, with blond hair and green eyes. She’s an amazing artist, a brilliant writer, and she can do the splits without even warming up.
And if I hadn’t had an amniocentesis, she would have died the day she was born.
She is a beautiful little baby girl, and she has the whole world in front of her. Who knows what she might become?
Full disclosure here: My sister and I were both Rh+ born to an Rh- mother. We were both born blue. We both developed jaundice, and this was in the late 1940s, so we never knew how we survived. We do know that our mom had at least two miscarriages, perhaps for this reason, one before I was born and one between the two of us.
I am glad for the procedures, monitoring, and insurance coverage that allowed this beautiful girl-child to survive and thrive.
So WHERE are those “death panels?”
The Death Panels are alive and well. Just ask Darell Issa. He wants to kill as many women as possible. For those he can’t kill, he just wants to destroy their lives.
LikeLike
Right!
LikeLike
I find this to be a good Palin substitute.
I also find this whole argument about “moral conviction” to be a load of bull funky. What’s next? If some bible thumper in my neighborhood is upset that condoms and birth control are available in their pharmacy, is CVS going to be forced to stop carrying these products due to that person’s delicate sensibilities and strong “moral conviction”?
LikeLike
Odd, though, that her minions have not chimed in on this! Amniocentesis can save lives! Palin and Santorum = marginal voices.
LikeLike
The concept of “death Panels” deciding life or death already exists in the form MBA’s telling docores which patients may be treated. My college room mate from 40 years ago is an Oncologist ina major NW city. Before he can treat any patient he has to get approval from the insurance company or Medicare. SO he (not a secretary or other) has to wait on the phone for up to an hour to speak with a insurance person to make the case why the patient should be treated. This one person has the life/death choice against some economical formula apparently. This has been going on for at least 10 yesrs.
LikeLike
Bill Maher says something smart. We do not need a “centrist, moderate” party. We need a “left” party. The Democrats are the centrist party. They became that way after the Republicans began to implode to the right. I totally agree. Green Party, anyone? Well… Hillary would be better than Rosanne… but at least there, there’s some… moral conviction. Haha. ;D
LikeLike
I have despised Bill Maher ever since he totally unnecessarily used the “c” word about Hillary. I will not watch him and consider nothing from his mouth wise or worth hearing. He is repugnant.
LikeLike
I must have missed that episode. I didn’t know he did that.
LikeLike
It was obscene. I never link to it. and don’t like to give that Youtube any traffic for him, but it can be found there. I would call him a pig, but I actually like pigs. Been around a lot of little piglets, and they are adorable and innocent. Then there’s “Babe”. He’s a monster.
LikeLike
They can’t all be centrists! That would make me a woman without a party.
LikeLike
No, they can’t be. I see the point, though. The Republicans are so far to the right, and have gotten worse every year since 1980 (really since the 60s), that we need the left to be very loud so the leadership isn’t too compromising. Some of that is happening, but not enough in my eyes. What is happening to the unions, for example?
LikeLike
I meant to add that things like single payer insurance, gay rights, environmental issues, etc., all could move a lot faster through government if there was a substantial farther left movement.
LikeLike
This is totally funny. I’m not sure where to paste it, so I’ll put it here. It’s not the greatest video, but a little finagling got it to work. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/david-albo-virginia-lawmaker-no-sex-transvaginal-ultrasound_n_1300404.html
LikeLike
I saw that tonight, What a doo-dah!
LikeLike
That’s what he gets for treat women like livestock.
LikeLike
Wow! You said a mouthful! This is also a factor in Santorum’s “dominionism.”
LikeLike
Not so many years ago freedom, as our main tenant, should be tolerant of religion because it is very important to many people’s lives. Now many people believe that equation is reversed and it is religion that has to accommodate freedom. That’s not good.
LikeLike