Santorum has some... interesting ideas about what's going on in the Netherlands

[platypeanArchcow]

perhaps Santorum doesn't know how medicine works (or doesn't):
http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Well, it was posted by a Dutch person

This should tell you everything about the credibility, Inks.

Is this going to be the campaign's response when people start pointing out that apparently there aren't "Do not euthanize" bracelets in the Netherlands?  How's he going to handle this?  I can't find a single credible source of a don't euthanize bracelet or card, let alone even a picture of one.

[Keystone Phil]

Have any of these people ever been to Europe?

Ironically, I'm posting from Europe right now. And I love Europe, just not its political leanings. 

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

This could turn into a major gaffe by Santorum if the other candidates attack him on it.  Not only does it show some ignorance on a social issue, but it makes him look terrible from a foreign policy standpoint, if he's going to blatantly lie about what's happening in the Netherlands.

[ajb]

This could turn into a major gaffe by Santorum if the other candidates attack him on it.  Not only does it show some ignorance on a social issue, but it makes him look terrible from a foreign policy standpoint, if he's going to blatantly lie about what's happening in the Netherlands.

meh. I think "Mainline Protestant churches have been corrupted by Satan, are no longer Christian" has more legs.

[Wisconsin+17]

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That's what the man said isn't it?

Here's the funny part. We're expecting doctors to report on themselves....

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

This could turn into a major gaffe by Santorum if the other candidates attack him on it.  Not only does it show some ignorance on a social issue, but it makes him look terrible from a foreign policy standpoint, if he's going to blatantly lie about what's happening in the Netherlands.

meh. I think "Mainline Protestant churches have been corrupted by Satan, are no longer Christian" has more legs.

Both do.  Although this one's a lot more recent than the Satan speech.

[ajb]

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That's what the man said isn't it?

Here's the funny part. We're expecting doctors to report on themselves....

You did read Gustaf's post, didn't you, where it said that there are about 3000 cases of euthanasia a year in the Netherlands, not involuntary euthanasia, which is not legal there. Of those 3000-odd cases, nine were found to be not according to protocol.


So the list of possible cases of euthanasia that did not meet the strict protocols in place was not 3500, but nine.

And if Dutch doctors were killing off elderly patients left, right, and center, it would be odd that their life expectancy should be 18 months higher than that in the United States.

[Wisconsin+17]

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Here's a bonus question. Is that age cohort the same in the Netherlands as it is in the US? What are some intrinsic factors that would explain the differences? All else being equal - I would expect the Netherlands to have higher life expectancy.

Why is anyone surprised that Catholic Santorum opposes euthanasia. Conception to natural death..

[ajb]

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Here's a bonus question. Is that age cohort the same in the Netherlands as it is in the US? What are some intrinsic factors that would explain the differences? All else being equal - I would expect the Netherlands to have higher life expectancy.

Why is anyone surprised that Catholic Santorum opposes euthanasia. Conception to natural death..

The average age in the Netherlands is 40.8, compared to 36.8 in the US. Age pyramids are here: http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us/Age_distribution and here: http://www.nationmaster.com/country/nl-netherlands/Age_distribution.

I'd be curious to hear what your conclusions are.

In the meantime, keep in mind that the infant mortality rate in the Netherlands is 4.48 per 1000 live births; in the US, it's 6.81 -- slightly better than Chile (7.19), slightly worse than Lithuania (6.45).

It would be really nice if the whole "culture of life" included doing something about this.

[Torie]

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Here's a bonus question. Is that age cohort the same in the Netherlands as it is in the US? What are some intrinsic factors that would explain the differences? All else being equal - I would expect the Netherlands to have higher life expectancy.

Why is anyone surprised that Catholic Santorum opposes euthanasia. Conception to natural death..

What is surprising is that Rick got almost all his facts wrong, and gilded the lily by making a basically false and misleading case that it ineluctably leads to involuntary euthanasia, and the Dutch elderly are running to foreign hospitals in fear of their lives. It was the involuntary bit that fueled Rick here. Otherwise, it would have been a big yawn. Rick wanted red meat, and stuck his foot in it trying to get it.

[Joe Republic]

So euthanasia is one of the issues Rick Santorum has decided he wants to agree with the Catholic church on?

[© tweed]

This could turn into a major gaffe by Santorum if the other candidates attack him on it.

no.  it fits quite cleanly into the prevailing meta-narrative pedaled by the modern GOP, in which facts play only a tangential role.