Sorry for the partial portmanteau. But today I’ve got an example for you of both concealment and conceits by the Death Cults. The title was my attempt to announce it in short.

However you would never guess either of those from the FNC headline:

UK court rules teen with rare disorder incapable of making decisions about care despite begging to live

‘I want to die trying to live’ the 19-year-old told doctors

No, you would have to read most of the story first. Even then there may be some among you who would not be as inclined as I to call attention to the disingenuous language.

First of all, the judge ruling to end this teen’s life runs the “Protection” court. Just exactly who is he protecting. The been counters at the NIH? The Chancellor of the Exchequer? The story doesn’t say, but in this Postmodern, utilitarian universe, it’s best you know what the odds are for you or a loved one once the states’ finances are a consideration.

Secondly, there was the matter of a court order not to identify the patient by name, as demanded by the “transparency order” requested by the hospital. She and her family wanted to raise funds to help her access extra care, but the order makes it near impossible due to ID requirements designed to protect donors from unscrupulous fund raisers.

Thirdly is the conceit that court presumes to know best, viewing patient’s wishes to seek second opinions as delusional, and judging her incompetent simply because she doesn’t want to give up based on the fatalist opinion of two “experts.”

Speaking of Orwellian terms, this would be a good time to remind readers of my warning about “Living” Wills from almost twenty years ago.

What I discovered in the proforma version of Living Wills, of just about every state in the union, were words that would put the unwary signer in the same place this young woman found herself. They declare the opinion of the attending physician and one colleague as sufficient to put any second opinion out of bounds, no matter who makes the appeal for the incapacitated patient.

And let us put aside the NIH bean counter’s worries that are likely core to today’s tragic story. There are worse devils to contend with. In this day and age of lucrative organ harvesting, the forces pressuring physicians to make such pronouncements are far greater than one’s wish to live — guaranteed!

Let that serve as a word to the wise.