Obama's VA pulls so-called 'Death Book' from website

[pjdbm]

Obama's VA pulls so-called
'Death Book' from website

(Washington Examiner) Obama's Veterans' Affairs department last week revived a controversial and previously discontinued 53-page pamphlet on end-of-life issues for wounded soldiers ...

UPDATED2: No, Obama's VA did NOT pull so-called 'Death Book' from website
By: David Freddoso
Commentary Staff Writer
08/24/09 11:56 AM EDT

UPDATE: Earlier today, I noted that the "Your Life, Your Choices" booklet had apparently been removed from the VA site. The Department of Veterans' Affairs was kind enough to get back to me several hours after I called, in order to clarify what happened today on their website.

Spokeswoman Katie Roberts informs me that although the "Your Life, Your Choices" booklet was removed this morning from the URL I had linked to, there has been no policy change by VA. The document removed this morning had simply been hosted in the wrong place all along, on a regional part of the VA website. Links to that document should have pointed to the same document on a different part of va.gov, and it is just a coincidence that the regional copy was removed on the same day that news segments on the document aired on cable television.

Roberts said that "Your Life, Your Choices "is in a revision process in order to make sure that the document is most inclusive" of all points of view when it comes to end of life issues, and that the revision process includes faith-based and medical groups. She declined to answer for the record whether the revisions are being done because of any objectionable material in the current document.

She also declined to answer whether the VA, in its educational materials, is in the habit of posing to wounded veterans the question of whether their lives are worth living if they are wheelchair-bound or unable to control their bladder -- two of the many scenarios explored in "Your Life, Your Choices."

***

Jim Towey wrote last week in the Wall Street Journal that Obama's Veterans' Affairs department had revived a controversial and previously discontinued 53-page pamphlet on end-of-life issues for wounded soldiers. The debate over what Towey calls the "Death Book" bodes poorly for the president's position in the health care debate.

We were supposed to be beyond any debate over "death panels" when it comes to health care reform. But now the administration is scrambling to explain whether and why it has been referring physicians to use an educational document for end-of-life planning that strongly hints at the worthlessness of life when its quality is diminished by, for example, being wheelchair-bound or having bladder control problems.

There are perfectly uncontroversial ways to approach the topic of advanced directives for end-of-life care. But critics are charging that this pamphlet is evidence of the government asking wounded veterans to consider the burden they are placing on their families and on society by staying alive. The question is whether bureaucrats can be trusted to handle this issue with the sensitivity it demands, and Towey, President Bush's former director of faith-based initiatives, believes this pamphlet fails that test. He writes:

"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."

The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family."

When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?

The Bush Administration had discontinued this booklet's use, but Towey claimed that the VA is urging doctors to use it once again now. Over the weekend, VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth denied this, but no one in the administration has explained why it was re-posted to the Internet at some point prior to July 2, and why the VA specifically links to it as a resource for practitioners.

The booklet was co-authored by Dr. Robert Pearlman, who was among several physicians and scholars who argued in a 1996 Supreme Court amicus brief that the high court "should recognize a right to physician assisted suicide for dying patients."

President Obama is certainly not responsible for developing this booklet. Not only was it first published in 1997, but political accountability to voters would likely prevent such a thing from being done on purpose by any elected official. The bureaucracy is responsible -- and unfortunately, the same bureaucracy that ultimately coughed out this booklet will be responsible for developing cost-saving measures in health care, through the president's Independent Medical Advisory Council. "Death Panel" may be an unpleasant or even inaccurate term for what such a panel does. The VA booklet reminds us that bureaucrats are capable of almost anything.

[cars fta]

I think you jumped the gun again!! Have you heard the update on this story? oooops you did it again.....

Your old tired, worn out, propaganda is geting VERY OLD!

Hey maybe you will get one right soon hea?, NOT!

[pjdbm]

This is the updates story, READ

[cars fta]

How Conservatives Got The Facts Wrong On Their Latest Obsession: The "Death Book" For Veterans

The latest conservative obsession - dutifully spread via Sarah Palin's Facebook page - is marked by the same alarmism and factual inaccuracy as the hysteria over "death panels."

According to this tale, America's veterans are being steered into ending their lives via a "death book" distributed by the government.

It all started with Jim Towey, the former president of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives under George W. Bush, who penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journaldescribing how the Department of Veterans Affairs was using an end-of-life planning document that was aimed at steering veterans toward choosing death.

Soon enough, Palin linked to the piece, stating that "the Veterans Administration encourages veterans to forego care as they make end-of-life decisions." And Fox News' Sean Hannity and RNC chair Michael Steele were calling it the equivalent of "death panels" for military veterans.

They failed to mention that the so-called "death book" contains the same advance-care planning required of all health care organizations under federal law, has been in use since 1997 and was developed with the input of interfaith ministers.

In addition, Towey seems to have his own axe to grind. He has repeatedly tried to get the government to spend millions to purchase his "Five Wishes" book, which is published by Aging With Dignity, a non-profit group he founded, to distribute to veterans across the country, according to sources within the VA. Towey used his influence with the White House to get a meeting with VA officials, including then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. At one meeting, Towey was informed that the VA could not act on such an unsolicited proposal without violating federal procurement regulations, according to VA sources.

In 2007, after Towey complained that the so-called "death book," "Your Life, Your Choices - Planning for Future Medical Decisions," was biased against the right-to-life viewpoint, the VA convened an outside panel of experts to assess and update the booklet.

In his op-ed, Towey stated that this panel did not include any representatives of faith groups or disability rights advocates. In fact, according to the VA, the panel included a priest, a rabbi, a renowned disability rights advocate, and the president of the organization that produces "Five Wishes," the alternative advance care planning document that Towey is promoting and selling.

The panel supported the use of the "Your Life, Your Choices" booklet but included some suggestions for revising its content. The plans to update and release the booklet were developed under the BUSH administration and it is due for release in 2010.

=============



ooh well try again Im thinking it may be your first and only job?

[Bubba_loves_TV]

He's so interested in slagging Obama at any cost that he will stoop to passing on misinformation...sad really.

[pjdbm]

some people will learn "Later" after the fact. In the end I will remind you and re-remind you how I was right.

You read your propaganda and I will get my facts.

Oh, maybe I am wrong....ah maybe I should rely on guys from another country to tell me about politics in my own country.

Sorry fellas, I am no sheep...

[Tup14]

The article below is from the Wall Street Journal!
There is so much misinformation out there people want us to believe in a certain way!! Most if not all the blogs out there decide to state truth the way they see it and not really the facts?
Hell go to CNN and then go to Fox you will walk away with a headache!
The truth to me is a lot of common sense with a whole lot of reading!
Google this Death Book' and if you are from the left you will find their truth if from the right ditto!

By JIM TOWEY

If President Obama wants to better understand why America's discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.

Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care advocated a 52-page end-of-life planning document, "Your Life, Your Choices." It was first published in 1997 and later promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes. After the Bush White House took a look at how this document was treating complex health and moral issues, the VA suspended its use. Unfortunately, under President Obama, the VA has now resuscitated "Your Life, Your Choices."

Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing.

"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."

The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family."

When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?

One can only imagine a soldier surviving the war in Iraq and returning without all of his limbs only to encounter a veteran's health-care system that seems intent on his surrender.

I was not surprised to learn that the VA panel of experts that sought to update "Your Life, Your Choices" between 2007-2008 did not include any representatives of faith groups or disability rights advocates. And as you might guess, only one organization was listed in the new version as a resource on advance directives: the Hemlock Society (now euphemistically known as "Compassion and Choices").

This hurry-up-and-die message is clear and unconscionable. Worse, a July 2009 VA directive instructs its primary care physicians to raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to "Your Life, Your Choices." Not just those of advanced age and debilitated condition—all patients. America's 24 million veterans deserve better.

Many years ago I created an advance care planning document called "Five Wishes" that is today the most widely used living will in America, with 13 million copies in national circulation. Unlike the VA's document, this one does not contain the standard bias to withdraw or withhold medical care. It meets the legal requirements of at least 43 states, and it runs exactly 12 pages.

After a decade of observing end-of-life discussions, I can attest to the great fear that many patients have, particularly those with few family members and financial resources. I lived and worked in an AIDS home in the mid-1980s and saw first-hand how the dying wanted more than health care—they wanted someone to care.

If President Obama is sincere in stating that he is not trying to cut costs by pressuring the disabled to forgo critical care, one good way to show that commitment is to walk two blocks from the Oval Office and pull the plug on "Your Life, Your Choices." He should make sure in the future that VA decisions are guided by values that treat the lives of our veterans as gifts, not burdens.

[Bubba_loves_TV]

My perspective of the whole thing is this:

If you all devoted the energy to make your country a better place to live, rather than devote your time to your own petty politics, your nation would once again be great.

pjdbm, your I'm right and your stupid attitude shows just how little you are capable of determining what real truth is.

These discussions have mostly been all about who shouts the loudest, and due to the fact that it is difficult to engage in meaningful debate, I will withdraw my opinions from this forum and concentrate on the humour of it's posts.

Peace out.

[pjdbm]

Thats what happens when you are stuck to the Left, you throw your jabs then you retreat.

Now let me ask you a question, Was Ted Kennedy a good guy? Do you agree with his views?

[Bubba_loves_TV]

Originally Posted by pjdbm

Thats what happens when you are stuck to the Left, you throw your jabs then you retreat.

Now let me ask you a question, Was Ted Kennedy a good guy? Do you agree with his views?

I don't believe that Ted Kennedy was a 'good guy'. He had an extremely tarnished image from leaving the scene of the 'accident' at Chappaquiddick in 1969.

Using his political clout to help get his nephew off (sic) on his rape charge added to the smell.

I was a bit sympathetic because of the loss of his two brothers under extremely dirty circumstances.

I did not share many of his views. Having said that, I respect what he did for his party.

I am not going to slag or engage in debate over a man who has recently deceased, regardless of his politics.

I have attempted on several occasions to 'enlighten' you to the fact that I am more of a centrist, leaning more towards the right. That concept is totally foreign to you however, because from where you sit, I am way out in left field.

Like I said before, I am no longer going to criticize or comment on some of the palaver that gets posted in this forum. I have better things to do like play with my grandkids. If you think that is being stuck to the left, then I strongly suggest you seek help.

[pjdbm]

We agree and we disagree on things. I am strongly Conservative and you either like me or hate me, thats people choice.

I will not change my position thanks

have a good weekend

[Pantera1222]

Funny how Obama gets thrown around.. but if this so called death book is around.. it's been around for a long long time. I would be more worried about who the idoit is that made this thing in the first place and blame them. I have seen more crazy stories and people downing Obama but then don't care about how Bush and Chaney allowed people to be tortured and we were lied to about going to a war. I am glad you posted this though.. cause I don't care who is running things, we need to know what really happens.. but sorry to tell ya that 1 man doesn't run everything.. I am sure there are a ton of things the government doesn't tell us or the President for that matter. They are all corrupted if ya ask me.. once you walk in that door. Just hope that Obama stands up and does something good for us. Because their hasn't been much good done in a while.

[cars fta]

Originally Posted by Pantera1222

Funny how Obama gets thrown around.. but if this so called death book is around.. it's been around for a long long time. I would be more worried about who the idoit is that made this thing in the first place and blame them. I have seen more crazy stories and people downing Obama but then don't care about how Bush and Chaney allowed people to be tortured and we were lied to about going to a war. I am glad you posted this though.. cause I don't care who is running things, we need to know what really happens.. but sorry to tell ya that 1 man doesn't run everything.. I am sure there are a ton of things the government doesn't tell us or the President for that matter. They are all corrupted if ya ask me.. once you walk in that door. Just hope that Obama stands up and does something good for us. Because their hasn't been much good done in a while.

WOW with insite like this you will be vilified....

But thanks, thats my point allways, its a Dictator that does that....but many here throw words around not having any idea what the true meanings are!!!!!!!!!



Dictator: originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers. From 501 B.C. until the abolition of the office in 44 B.C., Rome had 88 dictators.