21 Jul
21Jul



Charlie Gard is a 10 month old baby living in Britain with his parents. He has a terminal disease for which there is no treatment in Great Britain. The government-provided health care of the English isle wishes to disconnect Charlie from life support. His parents, naturally, want him to live. Especially in the wake of two offers to care for and possibly even cure his condition by experimental means.

The Pope and the President of The United States have both offered sanctuary to Charlie. President Trump has made the gracious and heartfelt offer to also give Charlie a chance to live with a new treatment in the U.S. which possibly could save his life.

Social Media Used in a Good Way

This is a too-rare example of social media being used in a good way. President Trump tweeted the offer to bring Charlie to the U.S. Say whatever one will about Trump, he does exhibit sincerity of heart with this action. Moreover, Trump shows a commitment to life and parental rights in reaching out in this way.

On Monday, Trump tweeted that he would be “delighted” to help out in any way possible. The parents of the little boy have lost multiple court cases and now they face the real possibility that the hospital Gard is in could pull life support for their child — even though they don’t want that to happen. ...


The parents have responded to Trump's offer with an enthusiastic yes!

The parents of Gard, Chris and Connie... quickly seized on Trump’s comments and stated that they would continue to fight to save their child — especially now that the pope and the president of the United States were on their side. On Wednesday, a pediatric hospital in Rome owned by the Vatican offered to take over the child’s care, according to CNN. “If he’s still fighting, we’re still fighting,” they wrote in a Facebook post that included a link to Trump’s tweet.


Given all of that, it would seem that Charlie and his parents will get some hope for recovery. Yet, this will not be happening.

Trump’s comments revolve around a key part of the case. There is an experimental treatment in the United States that could help Gard, but Europe is refusing to let his parents actually bring him over here.

Why is the British High Court refusing this? Because of the single-payer government health-care system in Britain. The fact is, such a system anywhere will eventually face a crisis of diminishing resources and rationing care will become necessary.

Moreover, it was ruled that the parents could not leave and pay for their trip and care of Charlie even if they used their own money to do it! They have been donated more than enough to cover all the expenses and the court says they can not even do that!

Rationing is justified by costs in a single-payer system. However, this tragedy cannot even claim to incur any cost to the state. Which means the “state” is asserting authority simply because it can. That is another definition of tyranny.

A Usurpation of Parental Rights by the State

The government of the United Kingdom is usurping the rights of the parents over their child. This is another natural and harmful result of a single-payer insurance system where the government is, in effect, a monopoly business.

The parents have been clear in their wishes. If allowed, they would travel to the U.S. and take this last shot at saving Charlie. The U.K. court has decided to keep the parents prisoner and Charlie under a death sentence. That looks a lot like a tactic of a totalitarian government bent on retaining control of its citizens. How the once-free have fallen further into slavery thanks to another socialist endeavor.

This is also a manifestation of the failure of government-provided health-care which serve as an ominous warning to the U.S. The current debaters in the states over “repeal and replace” for Obamacare in Congress would do well to heed this warning. The warning is that once doctors and patients are beholden to government for providing payment, the government will dictate which lives are worth saving and caring for, and which are not.

The economics of reality will force this to come about. It is better to repeal and let the marketplace be freed to grow and innovate and provide real and beneficial health insurance choices, so that individuals are once more in charge of their own health-care.


By D.T. Osborn

Sources:

CONSERVATIVE TRIBUNE: Charlie Gard’s Mom Responded to Trump Tweet
FOX News: Charlie Gard: May leaves door open for treatment abroad as US hospital offers to treat him for free
Independent Journal Review: Mother of Terminally Ill UK Baby Charlie Gard Just Responded to Trump's Offer to Help


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