GOP Claims Obama Admin Put Out “Death Book” Encouraging Veterans To Commit Suicide

The right is now accusing the White House of sending veterans a “hurry up and die message.” Of course, it’s not true.  It’s because of a manual the VA put out called “Your Life, Your Choices.”  The problem with this story is that the manual was put out during the Bush administration. The White House has quickly rebutted this meme:

The rebuttal points out that the manual, which is called “Your Life, Your Choices,” is not an “advance directive” and “does not promote limitation of life-sustaining treatment, assisted suicide, or euthanasia.” Rather, its goal is to help veterans “consider the types of health care they would want to receive if they were unable to make decisions for themselves” and to “think about and discuss their preferences” with family, friends, and doctors.

The fact sheet does note that the manual was determined under Bush to be in need of revision, and that it may be “too negative in tone and not sufficiently sensitive” to pro-life or disabled veterans.

That’s right, it was the Bush administration that put it out and then determined it needed revision. Does anyone honestly believe the Bush administration wanted veterans to end their lives?

RNC Chair Michael Steele says the current  government is “encouraging [our veterans] to commit suicide.”

Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, has directly addressed these issues, responding to strong, direct questioning on “Fox News Sunday.”

It all started with Jim Towey, the former president of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives under George W. Bush, who penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal describing how the Department of Veterans Affairs was using an end-of-life planning document that was aimed at steering veterans toward choosing death.

Towey stated that the message of the veterans’ health-care system to its patients was “hurry-up-and-die” and he contrasted the “death book” with “Five Wishes,” his own advance care planning document.

Yes, Towey is selling his own competing book.  And that’s fine. He’s entitled.  But how many Americans truly believe that “death panels” and a “death book” are the products of an administration that wants American citizens to die?

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.