Government and Medicine

I read today’s headlines on the Drudge Report and I see Britain is pursuing a couple for taking their child out of the hospital against doctor’s orders. The couple fled to Spain to seek proton beam therapy for a child with a brain tumor. Proton beam therapy for brain tumors is not available in Britain. Britain’s response was to put out an arrest warrant for the family and Interpol arrested them in Spain. The child has been turned over to family services and hospitalized in Spain. A judge will decide whether to honor Britain’s extradition order.

This brings to mind the Justina Pelletier case. The Pelletier’s ordeal began in 2012 when Boston Children’s Hospital got the state of Massachusetts child services to take Justina away from her parents because the doctors in Boston had a different diagnosis than Justina’s doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Connecticut. Under Massachusetts law, by making Justina a ward of the state, Boston Children’s was allowed to use her for medical experiments against her will. Of course the family had no input and the foolish judge overseeing the case would not even let the Pelletier family discuss the case, so they could hide it from the media.

Think what precedent this sets. When Obamacare’s death panels rule against a life saving procedure, the government can pursue you across country borders. This can prevent you from saving your own life, because the procedure is outlawed by socialized medicine. Is this a medical system you would choose?