Never since the days of the Dr Mengele in Auschwitz has a government suggested such evil measures.  Yet Mr Tony Blair is responsible for his Secretary of State who put them forward  in a legal submission to the High Court in an attempt to over-rule a Court decision in a "Right to life" ruling made last summer.

In that Case a judge ruled that doctors should not be able to withdraw food and water simply because dying would be in the patient's best interests.    If there is any doubt, said Mr Justice Munby, medical decisions should go in favour of the patient.

The Secretary of State argues that to do so will lead to "an unprecedented demand on services" as patients demand other life preserving  treatments in addition to just food and water.  "In turn this will require substantial additional amounts of expenditure".

So determined is Mr Reid that he is prepared to put to the Court evidence of the cost of life preserving measures.

Attempting to cover up the Labour Policy of "some lives aren't worth saving" the Secretary of State says that if the original judgment is not reversed doctors will have to come to the courts for permission to uphold their clinical decisions in some cases of terminal illnesses.

This argument merely distracts from the plain fact that Reid has given evidence that it is the cost which is dictating his policy

It is the opinion of this publication that only doctors, patients, their families and, if necessary, the Courts should be permitted to make such critical decisions and that they should never be made on the grounds of cost to the NHS.

Prime Ministers, Secretaries of State and other politicians, and their civil servants have no place whatever in this field.   The fact that Mr Blair and his Secretary of State even have such thoughts in their mindset, indicates the degeneracy of this squalid, sleazy governmenrt.

Will Blair go into the next election with the motto:

"Cash before lives"

(7/2/05)