Reply To: Health Care Overhaul

CharlieHall; Yes, I have heard from poskim about abortian. Rav Yisroel Belsky shlita once told me that if you want an example of “nival peh” you need look no further then abortian, as it is called “pro-choice” and all of a sudden murder is “kosherized”.

As for the fact that the Torah permits abortian; nay, requires abortion, in limited cases and therefore your wife was told that she is permitted to teach it, I fail to see what that says about the vast majority of abortions which are prohibited under halacha.

As to the assertion that rav Eliezer Walldenberg zt’l was considered as pre-eminent a posek in Eretz Yisroel as Rav Moshe in America. That is a flat out untruth. My family is Israeli. Rav Walldenberg zt’l was considered an adom godol but not from the Gedolei HaDor. Rav Moshe for more then a quarter century was considered the final word in Halocha in America The Rosh Moetzes and Godol HaDor.

To say that abortion is not considered murder by many poskim is to enter a machlokes over what is the status of a severe issur that is agreed upon by all mainstream poskim. Is that what you wish to do?

As to the administration of Capital Punishment, In light of the fact that a) there is a court system which finds them guilty b) capital punishment is only administered where one is mchuyov misa b’dei shomayim. c) it is only administered to those who pose an active threat i.e danger to society, it is truly unclear if there is anything wrong with a goy executing another goy that is mchuyov misa b’dinehem.

As for what you answered BeMused about the Canadian system,

I have a chavrusa whos grandfather recently died due to the fact that they made no great effort to treat him once they found out he had a tumor and was already elderly, That’s the great system you speak of?

However, I am unwilling to further enter a halachic debate as this is not really the correct forum for it.

As for your comments about Smoking Cessation.

If you admit that covering Smoking Cessation is a money losing enterprise, then you admit that the government will be losing money to cover it. Now where will that money be coming from?

The Taxpayer.

Due to the fact that the money is lost, in other words not replaced, there is automatically less money to cover something else.

Hence Rationing.

Where is the Rationing.

It has to occur in areas which are less worthy of the “government dollar” than smoking cessation.

So I ask you what is the government likley to view as more worthy of the Taxpayer’s money: smoking Cessation for a Twenty year old, or Chemo for an 85 year old?

Now you know why dialysis is not goven to people over 75 in England.

I look forward to your reply to these as well as the other points I raised in previous points that you so far neglected to reply to.