It's just so easy to target disabled people, isn't it?  We are a lazy
thinking society, and for the most part, never look below the surface to find
the real answers.  This person immediately thought that the quick fix was two
kill two little girls.

When Independence Day rolls around, this person will fly his flag the
highest, watch the fireworks, and talk about how great it is to be an
American, and how it's great that everybody here has all the liberties (One
nation, under God, quite divisible, with liberty and justice for some).

I hope that history doesn't repeat itself Joanne, but I believe that most of
the elements exist now for that to happen.  Truly, I believe that in fifty to
seventy-five years, your counterparts will be pushed by the medical
community, not just not to save their Alex's life, but to euthanize him.
This will all be perfectly legal, and nobody will bat an eye.

The Peter Singers and Harold Shapiros are going to win, and the majority of
us are going to let them.

Betty

In a message dated 04/13/2001 11:39:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Betty, You are better be glad I don't visit that message
>  board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I once had a very heated discussion along these same
>  lines with a researcher/author who "specialty" is premature children. This
>  person had the nerve to post a letter by a neotologist who claimed ,much
>  along the lines of  your poster , that the extremely premature/
>  micropreemies should not even be given the chance to life because their
>  medical care ticket price is so high and can better used in other
>  ays( Inoculations of 3rd world countries seem to be a key selling point).
My
>  answer. My son fit all the criteria to not be saved. When he had the
>  respiratory/cardiac arrest when he was 3 weeks old and up to the  2# range,
>  his doctors strongly urged us to let Alex go because he was sure to have
>  MR/high degree of physical disabilities. Obviously we choose to continue
the
>  fight and Alex was won. His bill for 11 weeks of NICU was 3/4 of a million
>  dollars. My reply to your poster as well as my "expert" who posted  was
>  simply this. Private medical insurance paid that bill. No matter how you
>  want to tug heartstrings with those kids in underdeveloped countries, even
>  if we had chosen to let Alex go, none of the money saved could be used by
>  the 3rd world population. It is ours to use for our family only. A request
>  to donate "saved" money from denying my child treatment still wouldn't go
to
>  another country or anyone else and I can already hear the insurance
>  companies laughing hysterically at such a request. In the case of public
>  funds being used, the same principal hold even more true, especially with
>  bureaucratic red-tape, the fund can only be used for a certain purpose and
>  if 3rd world immunizations isn't on the list of approved uses, even letting
>  high maintance kids die won't release that money for immuzations elsewhere.
>  It will simply go to another high risk kid.Alex also has a good life. Warm
>  shelter, food as he desires adequate clothes, access to  education, and
>  obviously good medical care. Even with multiple disabilities his life is
>  much better off than the children in underdeveloped countries and giving
>  them a bunch of immunizations isn't going to change their lifestyles.
>   If by chance, immunizations became available to everyone in the third
>  world just for the asking, there' no guarantee anyone will ask. Here in the
>  good old USA there is a federal program that provides un/underinsured
>  children access to immunization and basic well child visits called CHIP
>   Children's Health Insurance Plan). There are frequent pleas in our local
>  paper for families to sign up because only about 1/4 of those who qualify
>  bother apply. Many parents refuse the inoculations for religious as well as
>  health reasons. If the children of America are underimmunized all the money
>  in the world won't get even less developed countries a higher immunization
>  record. Saying all that Alex  and the conjoined twins have just as much
>  right to life ( or at least be given a chance to have a life) as any child
>  anywhere.
>  Joanne


Betty
aut viam inveniam aut faciam
"I will either find a way or make one."