2 Words Could Clean Up 'Death Panel' Mess: Parker

Sarah Palin went way too far in suggesting “death panels” would kill her loved ones—but  the wording of the House health bill authorizing payment for end-of-life consultations is worrisome, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post. “A simple amendment would do much to cool tempers.” The current wording lets us “imagine a scenario when, feeble and ill, we might be subtly urged to forgo further life-sustaining treatment out of consideration for others,” Parker writes.

To fix that, “all that's needed is specific language saying that these end-of-life consultations are not mandatory—either for physicians or patients—and that there would be no penalty, either in coverage or compensation, for declining to participate.”