[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16925]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         TO DIE OR NOT TO DIE--THAT IS THE GOVERNMENT QUESTION

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, British Government medical ethics 
advisor Baroness Warnock proclaimed that people who suffer from 
dementia have a patriotic duty to die. She said: ``The care dementia 
requires is very expensive and drains the government resources for 
health care.'' This government decision maker said that people will 
soon be licensed to put other people down if they are unable to look 
after themselves. If that wasn't bad enough, she went on to say: ``If 
you're demented, you're wasting government resources.''
  Human beings are a drain on the government; so they need to be put to 
death? Mr. Speaker, that sounds like a rather sick and demented idea to 
me.
  Government-run medicine like in England puts the government's welfare 
above the welfare of the people. Government always values itself more 
than anyone or anything. It's the nature of the beast.
  Recently, the President said at a town hall meeting we could save 
money on health care in America by putting a stop to expensive 
procedures for people who have been diagnosed with terminal diseases. 
He said: ``Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, just taking 
the painkiller.''
  Now, is our government going to adopt the English system and 
determine who lives and who dies? It doesn't sound like a healthy 
health care plan to me.
  And that's just the way it is.

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