What Do You Mean By 'Entitled To'?

The difference between Joe Biden and Mr. Obama includes this fact: when Joe Biden says he wants to be clear about what hemeans, he usually proceeds to be quite clear about what he really means. This time I'm not sure.
BIDEN: I want to make this clear so there no misunderstanding anybody. I got a daughter, lost a daughter, got four granddaughters, and Barack has two daughters. We are absolutely — this is to our core — my daughter, and my granddaughters and Barack’s daughters are entitled to every single solitary operation! EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY OPERATION!
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a transcript of the remarks, so I'm not sure what he means by "entitled to" in this case. Does he mean that no operation should be unavailable to 'daughters' who want it? It's not clear that this is right: what if 'someone's daughter,' to use Biden's phrasing, wants to amputate her hands for no medical reason, as part of an art project? I would think that a doctor's oath would, or ought to, forbid participation.

Does he mean 'entitled to' in the sense that the operation should be not only available to them, but free to them? That's a highly problematic view, but if you want to endorse single-payer health care, say so. (Is the proposition that only women should have single-payer health care, or are women just the wedge to force it on everyone?)

Or does he mean 'entitled to' in the sense that no one should forbid access to an operation that is common practice? In that case, Hot Air raises a good point about Obamacare's IPAB board, which will in practice deny care to some 'daughters' -- even if their parents are likely to be long dead themselves.

Or is this just about abortion? If so, it's questionable whether it's reasonable to describe that as an "operation." In a sense it is a medical operation, because there are medical personnel involved. But the point of an operation is health, and the point of abortion is the destruction of a human life. An execution is not an "operation," and in that sense an abortion is not one either.

6 comments:

RonF said...

Those in favor of abortion "rights" classify abortion as essential healthcare for women. When I hold that abortion is not healthcare, they say that it is because a) bearing a child when you don't want to endangers your mental health and b) childbirth endangers your physical health. I remain unconvinced.

RonF said...

My guess is that they would rather not classify abortion as an operation, since it makes it even more specious that a girl cannot get an aspirin in school without parental permission but can get a State-provided abortion.

E Hines said...

Another thing that concerns me is the ENTITLEMENT part. Barack's and Joe's daughters are entitled to every single solitary operation!

Guess who's entitled to pay for every single solitary operation....

Eric Hines

Grim said...

What gives me the most whiplash is that good old Joe is using explicitly paternalistic language here... and in general it seems that feminists, excepting a few of the conservative variety, are just eating it up.

Joseph W. said...

In politics, as opposed to morals, "entitled to" means only one thing - "I can force people to give it to me." (Or to give it back if they take it.)

douglas said...

You know, if it's so that abortion is sometimes a necessary operation to maintain the mother's mental health (as they often claim), then surely breast augmentations should also be done on the taxpayer dime, right? I'm pretty sure most women that go through that consider it essential to their mental well being.