I recommend:

Brave New Bioethics

My podcast in which I discuss issues relating to human exceptionalsism, bioethics, and everything else we consder here at Secondhand Smoke.

The Discovery Institute

My controversial think tank. See what the fuss is all about.

The International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

The best single source for information on euthanasia and assisted suicide, with an opposing perspective.

The Center for Bioethics and the Culture (CBC)

Equipping people of traditional Judeo/Christian faith to understand the importance of bioethics and biotechnology.

The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (CBHD)

The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity exists to help individuals and organizations address the pressing bioethical challenges of our day, including managed care, end-of-life treatment, genetic intervention, euthanasia, and reproductive technologies (from a distinctly Christian perspective).

Bioethics.com

Your global information source on bioethics news and issues.

Choosing Tomorrow

Nigel Cameron's blog on "emerging technologies," in which the bioethicist strives to help forge "consensus and stability as we move into the Techno Century."

Bioethics Defense Fund

A bioethics law and policy organization whose mission is address the human rights violations involved in contemporary bioethical issues.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (Canada) prepares a broadly based network of groups and individuals as an effective social barrier against euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Euthanasia.com

A very thorough, well organized, and easily accessed on-line research library stocked with articles and primary source materials about euthanasia, assisted suicide, and related issues, from an opposing perspective.

The Human Future

Jennifer Lahl's blog about the Brave New World

Hands Off Our Ovaries

Pro choice and pro life feminists protecting women in biotechnological research.

Human Life Matters

The blog of Mark Pickup. Disability rights and pro life advocacy from a committed Christian whose "views stand in stark contrast with a world of utility, autonomy and cost-benefit-analysis."

Compassionate Healthcare Network (CHN)

CHN provides educational services through all forms of media to all persons regarding the inherent absolute value of all human life.

The Center for Genetics and Society

Left leaning think tank supports benign medical applications of the new human genetic and reproductive technologies, while opposing the commidification of human life.

The Altered Nuclear Transfer (ANT) Website

A Website dedicated to answering questions about this potential alternative to embryonic stem cell resesearch.

The Terri Schindler-Sciavo Foundation

Run by Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings, "a non-profit group dedicated to ensuring the rights of disabled, elderly and vulnerable citizens against care rationing, euthanasia and medical killing."

Not Dead Yet

Disability Rights activism, raw and to the point.

Physicians for Compassionate Care

PCC promotes compassionate care for severely-ill patients without sanctioning or assisting their suicide. Members affirm an ethic based on the principle that all human life is inherently valuable.

Center for Consumer Freedom

The Center for Consumer Freedom is PETA's worst nightmare. This scrappy, industry funded, non profit, tells the terrible truth about the animal liberation movement.

Americans for Medical Progress

A non-profit organizatoin whose mission is to promote public understanding of and support for the appropriate role of animals in biomedical research.

blog.bioethics.net

Mainstream bioethics thinking: enter at your own risk!

National Catholic Bioethics Center

Bioethics research and advocacy from the Catholic side of the street.

BioEdge

A good, objective source of information about bioethics and biotech.

Links to my latest books:

Thursday, May 08, 2008

NHS Meltdown: The Implosion Continues

What is left of the NHS in the UK is continuing its awful meltdown. Now, the bureaucrats in charge intend radical surgery. From the story:

Scores of hospital departments such as maternity units and cancer clinics will be closed or merged across the country under plans for a radical shake-up of the NHS...

The plans, which appear to have been held back until after last week's local elections, will be released over the next four weeks by the nine Strategic Health Authorities in England. They include setting a local target of reducing the four-hour wait in A&E to two hours, setting up dedicated trauma centres and better co-ordination of out of hours services.

However, in many cases, the changes--which result from Lord Darzi's continuing review of the NHS--will lead to services provided by cottage and district hospitals being moved out of the area.

Needless to say, protests are expected over what looks to be a loss of local care for many conditions. And the moral of the story is that centralized health care simply does not work.

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6 Comments:

Blogger columbian_leaf said...

Or it could be the fact that the NHS is chronically underfunded and has been under constant assault from government after government, that since its inception has been trying to find ways to cut back on health care. A better example of socialized health care is in Sweden which spends about 25% more per person than the UK, yet per capita expenditure on health is more than $2500 dollars less than the US(Americans spend $5711 per person, Sweden spends $3149). The percentage of government revenue spent on health in the US is 18.5% Sweden is 13.6%, and it must also be taken into account that the 18.5% of government revenue only covers 44.6% of the total health care cost, where as in Sweden the 13.6% covers 85.2% of the total cost. The reason why so much more money pays for half as much care? Profit.

life expectancy in the US is 77.5 while in Sweden its 80.5. That's only if your a lucky American with insurance, if your one of the unlucky 48,000,000 you win a fantastic prize of a 25% higher chance of dying each year, and in in 2007, twice as many people died from lack of health insurance as died from homicide. So the real moral of the story is that social health care is cheaper, more efficient, more humane, and provides better results.

May 09, 2008  
Blogger viking mom said...

My local hospital states that it is there to serve the weak. Though I am not of their denomination (Catholic) I delight to see that care for the sick is the prime stated value. The strong wish to serve the weak.

But if government health care in the US is nationalized,
and the "kill the disabled" people get in control...

-with officials trained on the VALUE of euthanizing the "unfit"

we too will have our killing fields - like the Netherlands.

Our own Washington State and Oregon lead the way.

May 09, 2008  
Blogger Bernhardt Varenius said...

columbian_leaf, can you give us a reference for all of that?

life expectancy in the US is 77.5 while in Sweden its 80.5

Given the radical demographic differences between the two nations, comparing simple life expectancy is of dubious value here.

...and in in 2007, twice as many people died from lack of health insurance as died from homicide.

How can you possibly determine "death from lack of health insurance"?

May 09, 2008  
Blogger columbian_leaf said...

This post has been removed by the author.

May 09, 2008  
Blogger columbian_leaf said...

The other comment messed up the page.
For the deaths compared to homicide there's the study that was done by Families USA. It shows California but it was done nation wide.
http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/newsroom/press-releases/2008-press-releases/dying-for-coverage-ca.html
For the Health expenditures there's the UN human development report, and the WHO's World health statistics 2007. http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/52.html
http://www.who.int/whosis/database/core/core_select_process.cfm?strISO3_select=ALL&strIndicator_select=nha&intYear_select=latest&fixed=country&language=english

May 09, 2008  
Blogger viking mom said...

Sweden has a population of 9 million; the US of 300 million.

Thus, there may be OTHER factors why a small country (more equivalent in size to one of our states) has better, cheaper health care and even longer life.

Russia is said to have about 142 million. That chunk of the former Soviet Union also is said to have life expectancy about 12 years behind the US.

And THEY are the SUPER SOCIALIZED MEDICINE PEOPLE of all time!

May 12, 2008  

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