The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Did the fact that Canada has a socialist, government-run healthcare system --similar to the kind that President Obama wants to ram down the throats of Americans-- kill acclaimed actress Natasha Richardson?

The short answer is yes, it may very well have done so.

Regarding the case of the actress who fell on a ski slope at Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec, AP reports:

As a steady stream of celebrities pay their last respects to Natasha Richardson, questions are arising over whether a medical helicopter might have been able to save the ailing actress.

The province of Quebec lacks a medical helicopter system, common in the United States and other parts of Canada, to airlift stricken patients to major trauma centers. Montreal's top head trauma doctor said Friday that may have played a role in Richardson's death.

"It's impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is ... driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a 2 1/2-hour trip, and the closest trauma center is in the city. Our system isn't set up for traumas and doesn't match what's available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States," said Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal's hospitals.

That's it in a nutshell. Socialized medicine, known by the euphemism universal healthcare, is about tightfisted government clerks rationing care.

Think about the folks at the Department of Motor Vehicles making your healthcare decisions for you while you wait in line. 

Under government healthcare, faceless bureaucrats do not care if you live or die, as long as everyone receives equal treatment.

Natasha Richardson received the same kind of treatment anyone in Quebec would have received, and now she's dead at the age of 45 because Quebec didn't have something as basic as a medical helicopter system.