by Martin Cohen
The death panels had become real.
The deficits had grown intolerable.
It was found that 17% of the health budget was spent on end of life care for those incapable of awareness.
So, it was decided that, if no improvement was detected in three months, life would be terminated.
There were two amendments:
Those who wanted could study if prayer helped
The mental health of those close to those terminated would be monitored.
The results were surprising to some.
Prayer had no effect. Attempts were made to suppress this, but this was leaked.
Many close to the terminated were actually better off – they no longer had the crushing burden of care and, most important, the termination wasn't their fault.
A wave of relief swept the country.
Three years later, a researcher noticed that sales of chemicals used to make sciopentane, which produced symptoms indistinguishable from advanced Alzheimers, had increased by 200% each year since the law was passed.
Oops!
