Australian Healthcare

Just like when the government controls anything, the bureaucratic garbage can ruin a perfectly well-intentioned program. I know health care in this country is often unaffordable to working families, but I'd hate to trade in my free choice of program(s) for something like Australia's state-run health care program.

Take this example: a specialist doctor in Horsham, Australia, is being denied permanent residency because he has a son with Down syndrome. "The Immigration Department this week rejected Dr Moeller's application for permanent residency, saying the potential cost to the taxpayer of 13-year-old Lukas's condition was too great."

" 'It is sad that in this modern day we are still viewing people with a disability, such as Dr Moeller's son, as a burden,' Senator Bernardi said. 'They can and do make significant contributions to our society.' ... Horsham business community wants the Moellers to stay. Business Horsham's Andrea Cross said: 'We are desperate for doctors in the country ... The decision to reject residency is crazy.' "

When you start treating people like statistics and financial burdens, you create a whole world of other problems. When families with special needs children are discriminated against like this, people are discouraged from carrying to term babies that are diagnosed prior to birth. These actions say that life is only valuable if it's a healthy, "burden-free" life, which is disgusting. All life is valuable, not just those deemed "worthy".

Stories like this are not only sad, but infuriating.