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  How do you judge Palin’s quote? [“And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s death panel so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their level of productivity in society, whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.] Effective strategy to oppose Democrats’ plans for health care reform or unethical scaremongering?

I believe Palin bringing up the ration of care for the sick, disabled and elderly was very important and a very effective way to grab the attention of many Americans. Not every American has a disable family member nor do they have to per say “deal”or worry with all of the medical and financial burdens these families have to take on. I believe Palin bringing this to many americans attention and speak for the people that are unable to speak for themselves was very effective when it comes to making it known they are also worthy of the care that every other “normal” American is able to receive. 

• Reflect on what informs your judgment: commitment to advance care planning, analysis of facts, and/or political party loyalties? 

It is hard to pick one thing that would inform someones judgement, but I would have to say analysis of facts. It is important to always do your own research and not base everything you believe off of what other people are saying. With that being said, I do still agree with Palin and her advocating for the sick, elderly and disabled people of America but doing my own research also taught me more about what Palin was referring to. I came across this statement “The health reform bill being considered in the House of Representatives says that a Comparative Effectiveness Research Center shall “conduct, support, and synthesize research” that looks at “outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care services and procedures in order to identify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can most effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and managed clinically.” (2009, Politifact).  It was not solely about and nothing to do with evaluating patients for their worthiness.

• Is it right for nurses to endorse health reform legislation even if the legislation is not perfect? Does this apply to the recently failed American Health Care Act?

Yes I believe it is very important for nurses to be involved in politics and endorsement of health reforms even if they are not considered to be perfect. Nurses are huge advocates and we have a voice that could speak out make a huge difference