The return of the death panels

Paul Greenberg: As every polemicist knows, the way a question is asked can determine the answer. To quote one of those experts -- a thanatopsist? -- at the University of Michigan, someone with heart disease might be asked: 'If you have another heart attack and your heart stops beating, would you want us to try to restart it?' Or someone with emphysema could be asked, 'Do you want to go on a breathing machine for the rest of your life?' Or the cancer patient would be asked, 'When the time comes, do you want us to use technology to try and delay your death?' As if anyone could know when the time will come, and how the patient will feel about it then. And please note the phraseology: It's not save your life, but delay your death. Never underestimate the power of negative thinking.