Political Quotes

“I arrived at my office this morning to a Politico with the front page headline ``Blumenauer's Death Panel Bill Lives on.'' It's actually a terrific article by Joanne Kenen, but the terrible headline about nonexistent death panels symbolizes why, three Congresses later, we still have not helped families deal with the most difficult circumstances any of us will ever encounter. This issue hit me with full force 10 years ago in the midst of the Terri Schiavo case, where we watched one family's tragedy turn into a national media circus and a political spectacle all because one 27- year-old woman didn't have a conversation with her loved ones to make her wishes known about what would she want if the unthinkable happened. And she was caught in the terrible circumstance of being in a vegetative state--brain dead--for 8 years with no likelihood of recovery. It's not really unthinkable. It's just that many of us would rather not think about it. Too rarely do we have this conversation, yet virtually every one of us will be in these circumstances with ourselves or with a loved one unable to make their wishes known about health care because of permanent or temporary incapacity. This is not just about end of life. It could be any decision: about whether or not to amputate a leg or to have an operation that carries with it significant risks. Who speaks for each of us when we're unable to speak for ourselves?…”