While proponents of the President's health care overhaul claim that there is no such intention in the currently proposed legislation, the article is enlightening as to where the nation is headed. Surely, the march toward communitarianism as the basis for our health care allocation begins with here.
Excerpt:
Site Map "This civic republican or deliberative democratic conception of the good provides both procedural and substantive insights for developing a just allocation of health care resources. Procedurally, it suggests the need for public forums to deliberate about which health services should be considered basic and should be socially guaranteed. Substantively, it suggests services that promote the continuation of the polity-those that ensure healthy future generations, ensure development of practical reasoning skills, and ensure full and active participation by citizens in public deliberations-are to be socially guar- anteed as basic. Conversely, services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia. A less obvious example is guaranteeing neuropsychological services to ensure children with learning disabilities can read and learn to reason."
(emphasis mine)
The implications are clear. In the future, whatever you do, don't get sick. Definitely do not come down with a chronic condition. Don't be born with a disability and don't grow old. For if you reach the tipping point between usefulness and being a burden to society, you may not qualify for care.
written by Alicia M. Prater , August 13, 2009
That's the current system, sadly. From the excerpt, he is describing an approach, not advocating it. nnBioethics discussions aren't necessarily what the speaker/writer thinks, but is a broad discussion of the topics and challenges, looking at it from various points of view. Right or wrong, there are people who think that, and he was addressing it, it doesn't mean it's what he thinks or wants to institute. nnUse of the terms "it suggests" indicates it is a discussion, not an advocation.nnThis article is horrible "reporting".
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