Cynthia Spreading False Claim That Health Care Reform Bills Include Forced Euthanasia
Randy Turner has posted part of this week's "Capitol Report" from Cynthia Davis, which includes this incredible passage:
And now the national government is attempting to ruin the best health care system in the world that would force all of us to pay for abortions and encourage people to die prematurely. While some may argue we could save money if more people are dead, this is the wrong approach to healthcare. Even if you are not concerned about the moral problems of this bill, consider the negative effects of rationing your healthcare.
This may surprise you, Cynthia's claims aren't true. According to the AP, "The proposed bills would not undo the Hyde Amendment, which bars paying for abortions through Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor." FactCheck.org also looked that this assertion, and writes:
In fact, none of the health care overhaul measures that have made it through the committee level in Congress say that abortion will be covered, and one of them explicitly says that no public funds will be used to finance the procedure...
[I]t’s not merely "tradition" that keeps taxpayer-funded health care from paying for abortions. It’s the law, starting with the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of abortions through the Medicaid program except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. And according to the Guttmacher Institute, whose research is generally respected by both sides of the debate, there are a number of other restrictions on the expenditure of federal funds for abortion.
Davis claim that the reform proposals will "encourage people to die prematurely" is even more outrageous. More from FactCheck.org:
The claim that the House health care bill pushes suicide is nonsense.
...In truth, that section of the bill would require Medicare to pay for voluntary counseling sessions helping seniors to plan for end-of-life medical care, including designating a health care proxy, choosing a hospice and making decisions about life-sustaining treatment. It would not require doctors to counsel that their patients refuse medical intervention....
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The same Davis newsletter also refers to the recently-passed legislation which expanded the list of hate crimes to include those targeted because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability as "thought police" legislation. Unreal.


