In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the fourth book of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series, the young adventurers hear of the Island Where Dreams Come True in their travels through the sea. But before they are able to set foot on it, one of its half-crazed inhabitants reveals to them the ugly truth: The only dreams that come true on that island are nightmares.
Contrary to what Michael Moore and crew would have you believe, all is not well in socialized healthcare. Despite claims of the utopia ushered in by universal healthcare—and it isn’t universal—those who explore the issue further will see images of a nightmare emerge.
Just this past month, in the United Kingdom, socialized medicine claimed yet another fatality. When a woman with cancer was denied additional treatment, she attempted to use her own money to pursue the life-prolonging care from a private source. But the UK’s socialist health care providers retaliated by stopping her tax-funded coverage. She died shortly thereafter.
Even Canada’s much-vaunted (by liberals) health care system is broken, declares Claude Castonguay, the man who many see as the driving force behind Canada’s system. He states that rationing and increased spending could not solve the problem. So what does he suggest? “We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.”
A popular measure in Arizona will make sure that never happens in the Copper State. The “Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act” is a ballot initiative whose petition has already garnered nearly 330,000 signatures—well over the 230,000 necessary. A poll reports that 71 percent of Arizonans support the proposed constitutional amendment, sponsored by Medical Choice for Arizona (MCA).
In a news release, MCA’s chairman, Eric Novack, MD, stated the initiative’s support sent a “clear message” on the importance of individual’s freedom to “remain in control of their health.” He continued:
“The last thing we want to see is health care reform by lobbyists and special interest groups that want to limit or even eliminate the ability of people to have choices when seeking out health care for themselves and their families.”
Joyce Downey, a concerned citizen, backed him up:
“As government places more and more restrictions on us, one area where we can and must resist with all our resources is the right to make our own medical choices. I can’t imagine the horror of having a government employee choosing my health care. It would belike putting my well-being in the hands of faceless, nameless, and blameless bureaucrats.”
Yet the very fact that it is necessary for such an amendment—one guaranteeing the right of people to choose what to buy—reveals just how far this country has strayed from the liberty-based philosophy of the Founders. After all, the foundation of liberty is free will: The ability to make choices.
The importance of health care choice is illustrated by an Arizonan woman that ALG News was able to contact. Robynne Mieding, of Bullhead City, informed ALG News of a facial growth which was removed from her husband’s face. Upon further investigation, however, they discovered that the doctor had not removed the entire growth. They then sought a doctor who specialized in these growths. After a very delicate surgery, the growth was completely removed.
“Relying on a doctor with limited or no experience in this area could have resulted in less than satisfactory results,” Mrs. Mieding said. “We are grateful we were allowed to seek the best possible care and did not have limitations on medical care.”
“Free enterprise is one of the things that helps make America great! It encourages suppliers of services or products to compete to give the best possible care or product, at the best possible price. If we eliminate competition, then we can only expect substandard services or products.”
Robynne Mieding’s story is a perfect illustration of why medical choice is necessary. As residents of Canada and the UK have found out all too late, the socialist utopia promised them is in fact a nightmare. Like the adventurers in the Dawn Treader, Arizonans are taking heed and turning away. And that’s why they are standing up for medical choice.
ALG Perspective: ALG News would like to praise MCA for working to ensure the rights of Arizonans are protected from future government intrusion. The warnings given us by the failed socialized health care systems in Canada and the UK should not be ignored.
ALG calls for similar measures to be pushed at the state and national level, to ensure that our freedoms remain intact for many more generations, and that Americans will not be denied their right to the best medical care in the world.
