Now that it is understood that death panels will have to be a big part of how the government saves money under Obamacare, you can expect to see many more of these types of news articles about how old or sick people should be allowed to die with dignity, and not suffer needlessly for weeks, months, even years as they undergo expensive treatments.
For the first time in months, she was able to touch her 2 year-old daughter who had been afraid of the tubes and machines in the hospital. The little girl climbed up onto her mother's bed, surrounded by family photos, toys and the comfort of home. They shared one last tender moment together before Vandenberg slipped back into unconsciousness.
Vandenberg, 32, died the next day.
That precious time at home could have come sooner if the family had known how to talk about alternatives to aggressive treatment, said Vandenberg's sister-in-law, Alexandra Drane.
It's not stated in the article if Vandenberg herself wanted to live a bit longer than 24 hours, and so chose, selfishly if you believe this reporter, to prolong her life with those awful tubes and machines and other yucky things like that. But Vandenberg's sister, still alive and presumably healthy, says that all would have been better had Vandenberg simply come home to die a few months earlier.
And Obama was going to make sure that such an option was available. For the good of the 2 year-olds who are afraid of those scary doctors and machines that are helping their parents live. But the bad Republicans said "NO" to dying on one's own personal schedule.
Last year, a plan that would have let Medicare pay for doctors to talk about things like living wills was labeled "death panels" and was dropped.
So you see, you selfish old and/or terminally ill people. Under Obamacare, you will not only receive the finest care, at the lowest price, but you will also know exactly when that price, as low as it is, is too much for your 2 year-old to bear. At that point, you'll be summoned to a death panel that is not really a death panel, and encouraged to die.
For the children.