Death Panels Do Exist. They're in Texas, and George W. Bush OK'd Them: TEXAS "FUTILE CARE" LAW

[Are_grits_groceries]

The details: In 1999, as governor of Texas, former U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation giving medical professionals an unprecedented level of autonomous power and creating perhaps the country's only example of a "death panel" in action.

The Advance Directives Act, known also as the Texas Futile Care Law, mostly functions in the way Palin's so-called death panels would: It gives patients the right to dictate the kind of end-of-life care they would like to receive. But the law contains a provision allowing a hospital committee to arbitrate disputes between families and physicians. The boards can end life support for patients if the care is determined to be "futile." Under the current law, the hospital need only inform the patient's family two days before the committee meets to make its decision; the family has 10 days to transfer its loved one to another facility. The Texas legislature is currently considering legislation to extend the time frame.

Advance directives were encouraged by, among others, Palin herself. When still governor of Alaska, she issued a statement on Healthcare Decisions Day encouraging an "increase the number of Alaska's citizens with advance directives."

Read the actual law: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/76R/billtext/doc/SB01260F.doc

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/09/09/the_list_real_life_death_panels?page=0,1

Muh.... Who knew? Hypocrites.

[KamaAina]

1. And they've been used on toddlers, too

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001620.html?referrer=delicious

A 17-month-old deaf, blind and terminally ill child on life support is the latest focus in an emotional fight against a Texas law that allows hospitals to withdraw care when a patient's ongoing treatment is declared "medically futile."

Since Dec. 28, baby Emilio Gonzales has spent his days in a pediatric intensive care unit, mostly asleep from the powerful drugs he is administered, and breathing with the help of a respirator. Children's Hospital here declared his case hopeless last month and gave his mother 10 days, as legally required, to find another facility to take the baby. That deadline, extended once already, was due to expire Wednesday, at which time the hospital was to shut off Emilio's respirator. Without the machine, Emilio would die within minutes or hours, hospital officials have said.

But the child's mother, Catarina Gonzales, 23, and lawyers representing a coalition of state and national disability rights advocates and groups that favor prolonging life persuaded a Travis County judge Tuesday to force the hospital to maintain Emilio's care while the search for a facility to accept him continues. The group's attempt last week to persuade a federal judge to intervene in the case failed.

Emilio dies shortly therwafter. :(

Aside: Nearly all the hits on "emilio gonzales" came from "groups that favor prolonging life" (i.e. anti-choicers), not from progressive sites or the M$M. :eyes:

[ohheckyeah]

2. There seems to be a lot of states that have these laws.

But good luck finding a list of them. Virginia is one.