Soylent Green is People!

Reading through the Twitter posts from Peter Fleckstein, posted by Savage (Little Green Footballs, Inside the Health Care Bill, aka HR3200, July 22, 2009), that's the thought that kept popping into my head:

PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life

Pg 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 17-19 Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

PG 425: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death!

PG 427: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The Government has a say in how your life ends!

Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 1-9 An “advance care planning consultant” will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

PG 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 10-12 “advance care consultation” may include an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 13-25 – The Government will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430: SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION Lines 11-15 The Government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.

(For people who don't understand the reference, Soylent Green was a film based on a dystopic novel [Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison] where government mandated that people submit themselves to be killed on their 65th birthday. Set in a future where pollution prevented crop growth, there were food shortages. It was determined that the government-issued green wafers given to the people as nourishment was made from the bodies of the elderly.)

There is a point, however, where arguing the details is counterproductive. The bottom line is that government, especially the Federal government, has no authority to "reform" health care. It should be rejected on principle, regardless of the details.

H/t comment by katablog.com (James Pethokoukis, Reuters Blogs, Why Obama might have just killed Obamacare, July 23, 2009)