this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
125 points (100.0% liked)
Science
12943 readers
52 users here now
Studies, research findings, and interesting tidbits from the ever-expanding scientific world.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
Be sure to also check out these other Fediverse science communities:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Your bullshit counter is broken, Steven
here's the link from MIT technology review : https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/05/25/1073634/brain-implant-removed-against-her-will/
here's their imprimatur from the MIT itself : https://news.mit.edu/1995/tech-review-0201
I'd have that clicking checked out
That has no additional information. I'm not saying the story is made up. Just that it leaves out a lot of important details about what exact mechanism was used to "force" her.
If she's insured, she would lose her insurance, if her medical care is being provided at no cost from the state through medicare she would lose that, so, they really leave the person no choice. Show up and have this fucking thing removed, or lose any future medical care whatsoever. I mean, it's still a choice, sure. No one forces anyone to eat or drink either, Steve.
That's speculation. They seem like reasonable possibilities, but we don't know because it wasn't explained.
At worse, all that is coercion. Well mostly just natural consequences really. Still not force.
People can absolutely be forced to eat or drink. It's been done in the past, when inmates go on a hunger strike. Half a dozen people strap them down, force a feeding tube down their throats. If lucky, they'd be sedated first.
They aren't reasonable possibilities, because Medicare covers everyone over 65 regardless of their medical history and ACA health insurance plans are required to enroll all applicants regardless of age or medical history.
The latter can raise your premium if you smoke tobacco. That's literally the only power of "coercion" they have available. All your other choices are off-limits.
I think you and @[email protected] (and @[email protected] ) might have missed the part where the woman is Australian and this whole thing took place in Australia, where there is universal healthcare.
I did miss that.
Seems there are fewer reasons for her to give it up.
In the US, you can't lose your health insurance based on your medical history.
Pretty much the only way for an individual to lose their health insurance is by leaving their employer, if they have employer-provided insurance.
Non-employer-provided plans are required to enroll anyone who wants enroll.
The articles point out the company went bankrupt and her doctors advised her to remove the implant. It says she was willing to pay to keep it, and suggests this could have been avoided if another company could have taken over device maintainance.
All of which suggests that the device was removed because it could no longer be maintained, despite her willingness to pay.