Sarah Murnaghan is the 10 year old Pennsylvania girl who is dying of cystic fibrosis because there are no child organs available for transplant. She needs a lung or she will die in 3-5 weeks but government regulations say she must be 12 years old in order to be placed on the adult transplant list. At a Congressional hearing yesterday, legislators from Pennsylvania pleaded, no literally begged, Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius to use her authority to grant an exception. She refused. It may have only been a panel of one but in the case of Sarah, Kathleen Sebelius gave the first "death panel" ruling.
Liberals wince and claim to hate to have to make life and death decisions such as this but in reality, they relish the power and control. And they love to be able to do this under the cover of government bureaucracy. "Sorry, rules are rules, you know. Nothing I can do about it."
Is this a vision of things to come under the Affordable Care Act? Did it make any difference that the Senators and Congressmen speaking on behalf of Sarah, were Republicans? Cynical of me to ask I know, but in this current scandal-rich environment, one has to wonder. I heard a radio talk show caller ask a very interesting question - something to the effect of "Why does the president with his 'If we can save just one child, we need to act.' when it comes to gun control, not apply the same reasoning when it comes to saving this one child?"
During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Democrats and the media derided Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin for calling the rationing boards that would be instituted under Obamacare "death panels." You may not like the language but the results are the same regardless of what they are called.
I think Shakespeare expressed it best when he wrote:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
