The deathers at Fox "News" have been caught with their pants down, once again.
This time -- led by Chris Wallace of Fox "News" Sunday -- Fox is alleging that President Obama is trying to prematurely end the lives of millions of veterans by forcing them to read a "death book" that urges them to "pull the plug" and commit "assisted suicide."
Not surprisingly, it turns out that Fox's attack is totally made up. Their so-called "death book" is actually an optional guidebook on drafting living wills that had been listed in a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) handbook by the Bush administration in 2007.
Here's more detail on the garbage being spewed by Fox:
1. Fox's alleged "death book" is actually a guidebook on preparing living wills
The thing Fox is calling a "death book" is actually a guidebook called "Your life, your choices" initially developed in 1997 to help veterans understand issues relating to advance directives and living wills should they ever experience a medical condition (such as a permanent coma) where they cannot communicate their treatment preferences. Although the guidebook can be downloaded, it carries a disclaimer noting that is currently being updated and revised for a 2010 release. (See this article for more information on the revisions.)
Despite Fox's claim that the guide encourages assisted suicide and euthanasia, it is solely focused on helping veterans determine what type of care they wish to receive if they should ever became incapable of making their wishes known. The guidebook specifically makes clear that it has nothing to do with assisted suicide, which is illegal.
2. Although Fox said VHA practitioners must give the guidebook to each of the 24 million vets they serve, there is no such requirement
According to a directive issued in 2007 under President Bush, the guidebook is merely an example of the type of document that VHA practitioners should give to patients who ask for help with living wills.
3. The Bush administration, not the Obama administration, included the guidebook in the VHA handbook.
In February 2007 the Bush administration's VA issued a directive listing the guidebook as an example of the type of documents VHA practitioners should give to patients who want help drafting living wills. In July 2009, the Obama administration issued a minor update to portions of that directive, but did not language on the guidebook at all.
Here's a comparison of the language contained in the Bush directive of February 2007 and the Obama update of July 2009.
| Bush February 2007 directive
Primary care practitioners are responsible for:
a. Raising the issue of advance care planning with all patients who have decision-making capacity, explaining that they do this with all their patients. These conversations may be brief, or more extensive, depending on the patient’s circumstances. For patients who request more information and/or assistance completing advance directive forms, the primary care practitioner may personally provide the information and/or assistance, or make a referral to another qualified individual (see par. 9).
b. Giving patients pertinent educational materials (e.g., Refer patients to the "Your Life, Your Choices" module in MyHealtheVet at the web site http://www.myhealth.va.gov, or provide written material such as App. C).
...
VA must provide additional information about advance directives and/or assistance in completing forms for all patients who request this service. This assistance may be provided by social workers, or others who are appropriately trained, and must be available to patients in all clinical settings.
a. Content. Designated practitioners need to ensure that the patient understands the meaning of advance care planning and advance directives, including the information listed in subparagraphs 8b to 8f. For patients who already have an advance directive, practitioners also need to cover points in paragraph 8g and 8h. Possible clinical scenarios and treatment options need to be discussed with attention and sensitivity to the patient’s individual circumstances, needs, and culture. Patients may be directed to the exercises in "Your Life, Your Choices" (available on My HealtheVet at the web site http://www.myhealth.va.gov), or other published resources. | Obama July 2009 update
Primary care practitioners are responsible for:
a. Raising the issue of advance care planning with all patients who have decision-making capacity, explaining that they do this with all their patients. These conversations may be brief, or more extensive, depending on the patient’s circumstances. For patients who request more information and/or assistance completing advance directive forms, the primary care practitioner may personally provide the information and/or assistance, or make a referral to another qualified individual (see paragraph 9).
b. Giving patients pertinent educational materials (e.g., Refer patients to the "Your Life, Your Choices" module in MyHealtheVet at the web site http://www.myhealth.va.gov, or provide written material such as Appendix C).
...
VA must provide additional information about advance directives and/or assistance in completing forms for all patients who request this service. This assistance may be provided by social workers, or others who are appropriately trained, and must be available to patients in all clinical settings.
a. Content. Designated practitioners need to ensure that the patient understands the meaning of advance care planning and advance directives, including the information listed in subparagraphs 8b to 8f. For patients who already have an advance directive, practitioners also need to cover points in paragraph 8g and 8h. Possible clinical scenarios and treatment options need to be discussed with attention and sensitivity to the patient’s individual circumstances, needs, and culture. Patients may be directed to the exercises in "Your Life, Your Choices" (available on My HealtheVet at the web site http://www.myhealth.va.gov), or other published resources. |
As you can see, the language used in 2009 was originally written by the Bush administration in 2007. Moreover, although Fox called the July 2009 update a "directive," it was not. It was just a minor update to a small portion of the Bush directive and had nothing to do with the guidebook. The last directive was issued in February 2007, under Bush.
Finally, despite Fox's claim that Bush had banned the guide, it was used literally from the start of the Bush administration through to the end.
Sampling of VA website links referencing so-called "death book" while Bush was president
- February 2001 - http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/...
- Spring 2001 - http://www.ethics.va.gov/...
- March 26, 2003 - http://www.ethics.va.gov/...
- 2005 - http://www1.va.gov/...
- March 2005 - http://www1.va.gov/...
- August 23, 2006 - http://www.vehu.med.va.gov/...
- December 2006 - http://www.va.gov/...
- February 22, 2007 - http://www.ethics.va.gov/...
- July 18, 2007 - http://www.salisbury.va.gov/...
- July 22, 2008 - http://www1.va.gov/...
- December 29, 2008 - http://www1.va.gov/...
As you can see from the above list, there's no truth to Fox's claim that Pres. Obama gave new life to a guidebook killed off by Bush.
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There's nothing surprising about the Fox propaganda machine peddling outrageous lies, but Chris Wallace's fabrication is one of the most despicable, reprehensible falsehoods Fox has ever put on air. It's bad enough that Wallace lied through his teeth, but the fact that he chose to exploit our nation's veterans for his dirty political game tells us everything we need to know about his integrity -- or lack thereof.
By now, people should know that if you hear something on Fox "News" and it doesn't seem plausible, then it isn't. Perhaps the funniest example of 2009 was their claim that the stimulus bill included an earmark to build The Red Line Express, a high-speed train taking people directly from Disneyland to Las Vegas, where they would be dropped off at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel. Not only was there no such earmark, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch is located in Carson City, hundreds of miles from Las Vegas. And let's not forget when they were caught with their pants down, attacking ABC News for doing what they had done less than a year earlier. It's not just politics: they rushed to blame Billy Mays' death on a bump on the head suffered during a rough flight. He actually died of heart disease, with cocaine playing a contributing role.
As laughable as much of the reporting is on Fox "News," the biggest joke of all are the Democrats who take the network seriously and who negotiate with the leadership of network's political sponsor, the Republican Party.
