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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
August 7, 2009
17 Menachem-Av 5769
Death in the Casino
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When my mother was in her late 80s, I took her to a lawyer's
office one sunny day to sign her "living will." We read over the questions
and her answers, and she signed on the dotted line. She was pleased with the
decisions that she had made weeks before.
We went shopping afterward, and she bought an antique watch that
caught my eye in a shop window. This was an appropriate gift, she joked,
because she had named me to be in charge of her "lifetime." If the time
should come that a doctor asks whether to prolong her life when all hope is
gone, I need to produce her living will.
Such discussions and "signings" with older parents had become
commonplace among my friends of a certain age. We were confronting
generational tasks that our grandparents never dreamed of. These were not
morbid tasks, merely the latest reality bequeathed by technology that can
keep a body physically alive, while those parts we think of as constituting
our humanity have flown away. Yet nothing puts terror in the hearts of old
folks as much as a discussion of end-of-life issues.
Can it be possible that faceless bureaucrats get the power to
decide how an aging person will be "counseled," regarding when and how to
give up the breath of life? This was the question asked of the president by
a woman named Mary at a town hall meeting for the American Association of
Retired Persons.
"I have been told there is a clause in there that everyone of
Medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die," Mary
said. "This bothers me greatly and I'd like for you to promise me that this
is not in this bill."
The president looked greatly bothered by the question, too. He
told her that the question was about getting information, not determining
when and how someone's life would end. His grandmother, who died only months
ago, the first lady and the president, himself, had signed living wills.
This, he said, gave his grandmother "some control ahead of time." Nobody
would be required to take such counseling, but one such medical consultation
within a five-year period would be paid by government insurance.
That sounds harmless enough. The consultation would be
voluntary, not mandatory; you could specify a family member to take charge
if you can't. The legislation would simply guarantee your ability to learn
about such choices and Medicare would pay for it. So, why are so many people
still upset by the end-of-life clause in the House health care legislation?
The health care debate this time is focused on numbers, but a
subtle psychological fear is pervasive: If the government in its "goodness"
decides it can pay for end-of-life counseling, it can later on determine the
content of the counseling. If the government in its "goodness" is concerned
with the enormous cost of health care, looking everywhere for places to cut
those costs, the elderly become an attractive budget item. Nevertheless, the
insurance companies, imperfect and fallible though they are, depend on us to
pay the freight. That leaves us in control of our choices, limited though
they may be.
Trying to allay Mary's fears, the president offered a flippant
answer: "We just don't have enough government workers to send to talk to
everybody to find out how they want to die." But what if it did? What kind
of Big Brother government have we created that makes us feel so small?
Collecting information about how the elderly want to die is not the problem;
who manages that information is the crucial part.
The health care debate is valuable as part of the search for ways
to cover the uninsured, but it gives a lot of us the creepy feeling that
we're losing the argument with the politicians, who are more concerned with
creating a salable "product" than with thinking through the complexities.
Health care hasn't been in the hands of the kindly family doctor,
sitting by the side of a sick child in that famous Norman Rockwell cover for
the Saturday Evening Post, for a long, long time. The specialist and the
technician with their mighty machines have replaced the reassuring touch of
a healing human hand. The health care schemes, for all the good intentions
of the schemers, sound ever more like schemes for a big government casino.
That's not the place we want to be when our numbers come up.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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