Bush Happy to End Life Support for the Poor

As Atrios points out:

George Bush signed the law which allows the hospitals to make this decision:

A patient's inability to pay for medical care combined with a prognosis that renders further care futile are two reasons a hospital might suggest cutting off life support, the chief medical officer at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital said Monday.

Dr. David Pate's comments came as the family of Spiro Nikolouzos fights to keep St. Luke's from turning off the ventilator and artificial feedings keeping the 68-year-old grandfather alive.

St. Luke's notified Jannette Nikolouzos in a March 1 letter that it would withdraw life-sustaining care of her husband of 34 years in 10 days, which would be Friday. Mario Caba-llero, the attorney representing the family, said he is seeking a two-week extension, at minimum, to give the man more time to improve and to give his family more time to find an alternative facility.

Just remember: the rabid right to your lifers and Bush WILL TELL YOU what you can do with your body... but you're the one to pay for it.

Thankfully, we all get to pay for Terri Schiavo, however, and she probably has a poorer prognosis than many patients who will be disconnected because of their inability to pay. Thank GOD the politicians find her so enormously valuable or ::snip::