Life and Death in Socialized Medicine

The BBC is reporting that the British government has determined that doctors will not be allowed to resuscitate Charlotte Wyatt, a baby born prematurely. This is especially striking since Charlotte's parents want to do anything they can to save her life, and went to court to try to secure thier daughter's right to live, the government disagreed.

Since the UK has a national health care system, baby Charlotte's parents have no other way to obtain necessary healthcare once the government decided she is not entitled to care.

There is a lot wrong with the way the US provides healthcare, but one thing we can count on is that a judge will never decide you have had enough, and against your wishes, or against the wish of parents. The judge decided that is his opinion Charlotte had suffered enough, and so her life should be allowed to end.

In the US parents without health insurance may go into severe debt caring for a sick child, but their child will be given the best medical care in the world, and given every chance to survive. Think about that when John Kerry talks about how he will "fix" medicine here, and think about if you want him (or an unelected judge) in charge of your medical care.

Timothy Burger