Art Caplan Thinks OR & WA Assisted Suicide Laws Have "Safeguards." Really???

Speaking of Art Kaplan (see below) check out this interview starting at about 14:00. Caplan tells us how safe and wonderful assisted suicide laws in Oregon and Washington state are, and that they’re not abused. Is he serious????

Point of Inquiry Host: Chris Mooney

Our guest this week is Arthur Caplan, sometimes called the country's "most quoted bioethicist" and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. In this wide ranging episode, Caplan discusses not only the latest issues and problems in his field, but also how those issues have changed over time.

Fresh from the ideological fights of the Bush administration-over culture war issues like stem cells, cloning, and Terri Schiavo-bioethicists like Caplan are now more focused on practical matters like access to healthcare. And so is the country as a whole. more

Art Caplan Is Too Optimistic

Transparency alert: Art Caplan, commenting on something I said quite a while ago, called me a “cockeyed optimist.” I took that as a compliment. What he says in this piece is mostly useful, but he’s spinning nevertheless. He’s at pains (sorry) to say that if you choose all kinds of medical care at the end of your life, no prob. Really? This in a world where doctors are trained first and foremost as utilitarian bean counters and where whatever fine document you have saying what you want is easily overridden by doctor power? Now, maybe I can return the compliment.

Not a 'Death Panel': Call it 'Quality of Life'

I'm Art Caplan from the Center of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Today I'd like to talk to you a little bit about end-of-life care planning. This has been a very controversial issue. At first, the Obama health reform included financial incentives for doctors to talk with their patients about end-of-life care planning, but it has been withdrawn from legislation because there has been pushback. Some people are arguing that this is a kind of rationing or almost a form of death panel discussion where you're trying to persuade people not to use medical resources. more

The Drumbeat For Medical Rationing Increases

Truth in transparency: The author of this piece, Arthur Caplan, once called me a “cockeyed optimist.” I took it as a compliment. He’s a highly respected ethicist, but here it sounds to me like he’s beating the drum for rationing care. Death panels, anyone?

Dialysis payment program is costly in too many ways

. . . Experts agreed that the End- Stage Renal Dialysis program might ultimately

serve 10,000 people with kidney failure and would cost Medicare about $135 million dollars. They expected many of those on dialysis would return to work — paying taxes that would help cover the costs involved.

The experts were wrong. . . .

The End-Stage Renal Dialysis program was an act of noble compassion. But ripping off the American people by allowing too many people to receive lousy or unnecessary care is not compassionate at all. It is cruel. more