Does this make any sense at all?
A rural area of Australia badly needs doctors. A German doctor and his family fall in love with Australia while on vacation and soon move to that rural area, where he becomes the only internist available to 54,000 people. Everyone is happy UNTIL…..the doctor and his family apply for resident status and are turned down by the Australian government.
The locals protest this refusal, and people across the country chime in, but so far, the Australian government has not relented.
Their reason for turning down the good doctor’s request for residency? His teenage son has Down syndrome and is likely (according to the Australian government) to be a drain on its health care and education systems.
Good grief! In a world where we regularly hear about male teens overdosing on drugs, transmitting social diseases, getting girls pregnant, and knifing or shooting each other (all the while running up plenty of hospital bills), the Australian government blocks the residency of one young man whose risk of health problems is a little higher than the average teenager?
Sometimes it feels like the world’s gone crazy.
Wow, that IS crazy and sad too! If the family has been there already and they haven’t ruined the country, why in the world would the government have an issue now that they want to be official?!! It doesn’t make sense, and I can’t help but wonder if there is something more to it but they are using the doctor’s son as an excuse… or it could just be that the world really HAS gone crazy!
See, this is the problem with the welfare state and socialized health care. I posted about this at my own blog and had someone reply that she only wants “productive citizens” in our own country; people who will not be a burden to us. Which is a dangerous path to start down, I think. On the other hand, people would not be a burden to us as a community if we didn’t subsidize everything. Barb, do you think Down’s Syndrome children and adults need government aid extremely over and above?
That is the most ignorant thing I have ever heard! I wouldn’t think just because he has Downs he is going to need all this extra medical care. My nieces are microcephalic, it is like the opposite of Downs and they never needed extra medical care.
This isn’t back in the Viking age. Where is their hearts?
Sounds like Australia will be spending even more on health care since they have so few doctors…
Ouch. Are you kidding me? Wow.
Pam, it really makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Barb the EG, I would hate to be the elderly retired parents of your blog commenter, since she thinks “the non-productive” are a burden. Yikes! As for your question, no, I don’t think they need the aid “above and over,” unless they’re left without family members to care for them. However, that care is supposed to be the mission of the church, and is why we’ve supported Bethesda Lutheran Homes for years.
Jennifer, people with Ds sometimes have medical issues as adults, ex. a higher rate of Alzheimer’s. I’m glad to hear your nieces are ok. Thanks for stopping by!
BarbaraLee, you are exactly right to ask that question.
MP, you make a good point. Thanks for stopping by!
Janet, I wish I was kidding.
Thanks, all, for commenting!
So sad 🙁 What really makes me wonder is that apparently his son is fairly high-functioning for someone with DS. Not that it ought to matter, but it truly doesn’t sound like his care is likely to be some extraordinary burden on Australian society.
I know, CW, but the bottom line is some people just don’t believe people with disabilities are worth it. 🙁
This is terrible! I hope the Australian government wakes up and really looks at what is going on here!