Comments on: One of those moments that make you speechless

By: Chutzpah

Chutzpah — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:32:29 +0000

Baruch Dyan Emet

By: chutzpah

chutzpah — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:57:26 +0000

Doctors call “time of death” every day in emergency room across this country and on our battefields abroad.

To let Rabbis micro-manage Doctors is dangerous to both the individual patient and entire health-care system.

This community is trying to make some kind of political grand-stand with this maneuveur and they are probably hoping for a large cash settlement offer from the Hospital to go away.

They are asking for medical testing but when it comes to performing autoposies on their own victims of Shaken-Baby Syndrome, they want nothing to do with medical testing.

The idea behind giving money to Americans who pay no federal taxes is that they will then get on their feet and pay back into the system.

I make no attempt at hiding my distain for Hasidic and Ultra-Orthodox “Americans”. I think they will gladly take from the system but then will always find an ideological excuse not to pay back into it.

By: Ben-David

Ben-David — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:30:04 +0000

Chutzpah:
America just elected a guy who is going to give money to the 40-50 percent of Americans that pay no federal taxes at all. He also intends to enlarge that number.

Which makes your selective umbrage at haredi “corner-cutting” all the more revealing.

Sorry folks – anyone who has followed the ethical/policy debate around end-of-life issues knows how stupid/dangerous it is to argue based on costs.

The point is that the treatment is futile, and no longer has medical merit.

That’s all that needs to be said.

By: DK

DK — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:15:15 +0000

I heard this is a Bobov chassidic family. Is that true?

By: Chutzpah

Chutzpah — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:04:52 +0000

We are talking about a community that has a culture of cutting corners on taxes because they believe their tax money is spent on things which go against their ideology, then they have the chutzpah to ask tax dollars to support something like this? They should audit every family in the community, what they collect in unpaid taxes can cover the boy’s end-of-life medical services.

By: ol cranky

ol cranky — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:20:43 +0000

Ben-David: in cases of medical futility (actually especially in cases of medical futility such as this) the cost of care and waste of healthcare resources have to be considered. Every resource used to maintain an illusion that this boy’s heart and lungs are supporting his life (instead of equipment providing an illusion of living) is a resource not used to maintain the health and well being of another. One must not ignore that this unnecessary and futile use of healthcare resources could potential divert life saving measures for one or more others. That is truly a shunda.

By: Chutzpah

Chutzpah — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:43:07 +0000

Cost is the over-riding factor in all decisions by even the most pious. Like I said, offer to let them pay for it and see how fast they say to disconnect the services.

And this case does not involve active medical euthanasia, it involves a decomposing body which belongs in the ground.

By: Chutzpah

Chutzpah — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:38:24 +0000

The Orthodox are entitled to their opinion and they are absolutely entitled to take every measure possible to provide services to their child, IF they can affored to pay for those services privately.

Forcing Medicaid to pay the Hospital less than what it costs it to keep the child there offends my rights as a taxpayer as much as using tax dollars to fund abortions offends pro-lifers.

In a society that is on the brink of bankruptcy, the cost to the many must outweigh the ideology of the few.

By: Ben-David

Ben-David — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:20:01 +0000

Chutzpah: arguing end-of-life issues based on costs is not just flippant, it’s the chilling shadow that keeps many thinking people fearful of doctors taking on end-of-life decisions.

Whenever active medical euthanasia has been authorized, there inevitably are abuses of the system.

You obviously haven’t thought this issue out in your rush to make a snarky anti-Orthodox comment.

By: Tom Morrissey

Tom Morrissey — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:55:44 +0000

There is a silver lining here, chutzpah.