This Just In ...

Oregon is the only state in the country to have the Jack Kevorkian-like Death with Dignity Law.

Mary Wagner is 64 years old and is dying of lung cancer. She wants no part of this one of a kind law.


 

Believing her cancer was in remission, she was saddened to learn a few months ago that the cancer had come roaring back and was more than likely fatal. She had but one alternative: a prescription drug her doctor recommended. The price tag was a staggering $4,000/month.

Another setback would arrive in the mail, a devastating letter from her insurance company, the Oregon Health Plan (a state government health care plan praised by a University of Wisconsin study).  The letter informed Wagner it would not cover the only drug that could save her, but would cover much cheaper medications at $50 for a physician-assisted death. Her insensitive rejection letter was unsigned.

This story is so wrong for so many reasons, beginning with Oregon’s outrageous Death with Dignity Law that amounts to state-sanctioned euthanasia. The law takes advantage of people with limited resources, directing them to a choice of assisted death.

The insurance company’s decision was a ruthless, cold-blooded money-saving maneuver, made worse by the heartless letter sent to Wagner offering her a choice that was no choice whatsoever.

The Oregon Health Plan is another example of ineffective government health care.

I’ve blogged quite a bit about society’s disregard for human life. This is another blatant example.

For now, Wagner says even at her lowest point, she refuses assisted death. Good for her for standing up to a government that says she’s not good enough to live, but she’s good enough to receive drugs that will kill her.

Here’s the story from ABC News.