http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/obama-admin-fires-back-at-right-wing-with-detailed-rebuttal-of-death-book-claim/Obama Admin Fires Back At Right Wing With Detailed Rebuttal Of “Death Book” Claim
In a sign of real concern about the right wing’s latest lurid health care tale, the Obama administration’s veterans agency is hitting back at conservative media with a detailed factual rebuttal of the claim that government is giving veterans a “death book” that urges them to hurry up and die.
The rebuttal includes a detailed fact sheet and a timeline, both of which were sent my way by an administration official and may be sent widely to reporters later this morning.
Haven’t heard the “death book” tale? It got started with this Op ed piece in The Wall Street Journal by a former Bush official claiming that a manual distributed by the Department of Veterans Affairs sends veterans a “hurry-up-and-die message.”The claim — the right’s latest effort to frighten the vulnerable about Obama’s health care intentions — is that the manual steers veterans towards “predetermined conclusions” about “end-of-life choices.” It’s gotten tons of right wing and even traditional media play.
The rebuttal points out that the manual, which is called “Your Life, Your Choices,” is not an “advance directive” and “does not promote limitation of life-sustaining treatment, assisted suicide, or euthanasia.” Rather, its goal is to help veterans “consider the types of health care they would want to receive if they were unable to make decisions for themselves” and to “think about and discuss their preferences” with family, friends, and doctors.The fact sheet does note that the manual was determined under Bush to be in need of revision, and that it may be “too negative in tone and not sufficiently sensitive” to pro-life or disabled veterans. But the rebuttal strongly contests the core “death book” claim, and notes that the author of the original Op ed has offered a competing book, which is for sale.
The Obama administration’s detailed rebuttal is yet another reminder of how aggressively the conservative media is targeting the frail and vulnerable with its outlandish health care tales — so much so that real government resources are required to combat them.