According to the New York Times, the infamous “death panels” that were removed from President Barack Obama’s final 2,000+ page Government Health Care bill have been revived stealthily by government bureaucrats. The restoration of these “death panels” is coming in the form of a Medicare policy that will “pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forego aggressive life-sustaining treatment.”

The reason why this is possible, as the New York Times puts it, is because “the laws [in ObamaCare] were so broad and complex that executive-branch regulators have wide leeway in determining what the rules should say and how they should be carried out.”

According to our friends at Liberty Counsel, the “voluntary advance care planning” language was hidden on page 238 of a nearly 700-page document, the implementation of which began on January 1, 2011. The language comes from U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the author of the original end-of-life proposal. The New York Times reported an email from his office saying, “Thus far, it seems that no press or blogs have discovered it, but we will be keeping a close watch and may be calling on you if we need a rapid, targeted response. The longer this goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.”

For more information on the revival of the “death panels,” read “The ObamaCare Nightmare Before Christmas” by Jason Mattera and “Return of the Death Panel” by John Hayward.

Times are tough economically. I know you are careful where every penny is spent these days, as are we. Please know that the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) greatly appreciates every gift we receive — no matter the size.

In light of the current economic climate, and to help meet our financial needs, I’d like to encourage you to consider becoming an IFI Sustaining Partner.

If you have never given on a regular basis to our ministry, would you please consider a small monthly gift — as little as even $15, $25 or $50?

Thank you!!!