Sarah “don’t let your death panels near my baby” Palin hasn’t always been against end-of-life counseling. As Alaska governor, she signed a proclamation making April 16, 2008, Healthcare Decision Day with the goal to have health care professionals and others participate in a statewide effort to provide information about advance directives about end of life decisions, Matthew Daly of the Associated Press reports.
“The proclamation noted that only about 20 percent of Alaskans, and 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients, have an advance directive. ‘It is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about advance directives,’ it said.”
This is the same person who decided to sow fear and confusion by claiming that language in the health care reform bill that would pay for conversations between doctor and patient covering items like living wills, making a close relative or a trusted friend your health care proxy, learning about hospice as an option for the terminally ill, and information about pain medications for people suffering chronic discomfort was akin to making her Down syndrome child and/or aging parents march before Obama death panels.
Thursday, Palin refused to back down from the death panel language on her Facebook page with a posting titled “Concerning Death Panels.”
