Nataline Sarkisyan's father said today that there is a hole in his heart since losing his daughter. "Cigna killed my daughter," he said. "Vote for this man; vote for John Edwards."
"They tried negotiating with the insurance company," John Edwards responded. "If negotiating worked, we'd have universal health care already."
Senator Edwards also laid out three clear criteria for people to ask candidates to evaluate who should be our next president:
- Are you for fundamental change in Washington or continuing the status quo?
- If you are for fundamental change, will you fight for it?
- Is this change personal for you?
Fresh off the debate last night, John and Elizabeth Edwards are just wrapping up a health care forum in Manchester, NH right now. Accompanying them today are people who understand why it is critical to pass universal health care as soon as possible and why John Edwards is the right person to accomplish this, James Lowe and his wife Cindy, Sandy Lakey, and the Sarkisyan family.
Three separate stories, three separate situations, all part of the narrative of our country's cruel indifference to people over profits:
- James Lowe - virtually mute until he was 50 years old because lacking health insurance,.he had no opportunity for a simple procedure to correct a cleft palate.
- Valerie Lakey - a happy young child brutally evicerated because of the known design flaws in a swimming pool drain cover, known that is by the corporation producing the product that chose profits over the children across the country being horribly injured and killed.
- Nataline Sarkisyan - a young woman with a lifetime of promise denied a critical liver transplant by Cigna Insurance Company over the demands of her doctors and nurses, and the uprising of hundreds of thousands supporters on the ground and on the internet.
By now, you know the stories of James Lowe, Valerie Lakey, and Nataline Sarkisyan. John Edwards talks about their stories in explaining both why he is so passionate about fundamental change and universal health care, and why he is equally determined to take the corporate interests standing against change head on.
Last night in the Democratic debate, John Edwards highlighted his work on the Patient's Bill of Rights as well as Nataline's story to demonstrate why the issue of corporate interests is personal:
A powerful moment at today's health care forum was when Nataline Sarkisyan's family stood up for John Edwards:
"My heart is a hole. This isn't just about Nataline; it's about all of us," Hilda Sarkisyan, Nataline's mother said. "We fought them, but what about the families who don't have a voice?"
Fighting back tears, Sarkisyan's brother Bedig said he promised his dying sister everyone would know her story and thanked Edwards for helping in the fight against insurance companies.
"This is not right. Not in America," Sarkisyan's father Grigort said.
Edwards Puts Personal Touch on Health Care Crisis, ABC News
Thank you to NCDem Amy for providing the following videos of today's Health Care Forum in Manchester:
Introduction by Elizabeth Edwards and introductory remarks by John Edwards:
Remarks by Hilda and Bedig Sarkisyan, Nataline's mother and brother:
Remarks by Grigort Sarkisyan, Nataline's father:
Remarks by James Lowe and Sandy Lakey:
When we look at the three leading Democratic candidates against the back drop of universal health care and the middle class, John Edwards is the one candidate who is (1) FOR fundamental change in the way Washington operates--he is stood against corporate interests before and won, and he is ready to do it again; (2) WILL fight for the change needed to make this country work for its people again; and (3) TAKES this fight very personally--this isn't political to him, this isn't academic to him, this is personal because he knows and understands the problems facing all Americans.
Here are three ways to help the campaign:
Here for the phonebanking:
http://www.johnedwardsphonebank.com/
Here for general volunteering:
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Here for contributions:
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"We have an epic fight ahead of us with these entrenched, powerful, monied interests that stand between you and a democracy that works for everybody. We better be ready, we better be ready for that battle. You better be ready to send someone into the arena that has what it takes inside for this fight."
Background on Nataline, her struggle and her death:
California Nurses produced a powerful video featuring Nataline's family and the many people who protested outside of the Cigna's offices in their effort to turn the Murder by Spreadsheet company's decision around. Cigna did ultimately relent, but it was too late; Nataline died because the insurance company cared more about its profits than her life.