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Florida Man Says He Killed Sick Wife Because He Couldn’t Afford Her Medicine

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Tagyhag

Member
Horrible, it's no excuse to kill her (Unless she agreed) but they shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place.

This country is so fucked up sometimes.
 

FStubbs

Member
This is the reality conservatives want to defend. Rather this than endorse anything vaguely resembling a socialist concept like the NHS.

Not really. If they were minorities, sure, they want more of it. But they really do have empathy for people like the ones in the OP - just not enough to change their policies.
 

FStubbs

Member
When people have to crowdfund campaign their illnesses or kill their loved ones, only sadists can justify the system that produces these responses.

tedcruz-306-1381509569.jpg
 

tw1164

Member

Audioboxer

Member
Utterly depressing but this sentence makes it hard for me to have any empathy

So on Monday morning while she was sleeping, he told the deputy who came to their Florida home, he shot her in the head.

I could just about make the stretch to assisted suicide if she had asked him/pleaded/begged....

Without knowing maybe she had but that sentence makes it sound unknowable, so harder to empathise. Outside of empathy for the utterly depressing situation the couple found themselves in.

I'm grateful for our NHS but utterly frightened about the way it could go. I still remember visiting Florida when I as younger and the poor cleaner having an open cancer hole on his chest. Couldn't afford medication...
 

Kieli

Member
Definitely sounds like this dude took actions into his own hands and she wasn't complicit. Extremely fucked up and sad, and obviously the dude is either under extreme stress or is (more likely) not mentally sound.

This is how I feel.
 

FStubbs

Member
..Context? I know that's Ted Cruz, but I have willingly avoided following this buffoon for months.

Did he actually support sites crowdfunding illnesses on an individual basis?

He doesn't have a policy on those sites on the surface, but he is definitely in favor of a system that causes such things. I mean, to paraphrase, there was one point in the GOP debates where Trump actually had a moment of humanity and said "Look, we can't have people dying in the streets" and Cruz said "You don't sound like a true conservative".

Cruz would love it if the poor were denied health care and died in the streets. He calls that "strict constitutionalism". He's an extremist that would let the world burn before giving one inch on his hateful Tea Party ideals.

He was worse than Trump and the country is better off with him out of the race - but there are many others at all levels of government who agree with his way of thinking.
 

Zekes!

Member
I ain't gonna judge the guy. The story comes across as a mercy thing since she'd been sick for so long and having to endure that further without her medication would've probably been hard as hell. Definitely don't condone it though. I wonder she had consented?

It's a completely shitty situation for them to end up in.
 

j0hnnix

Member
Cause America is backwards as fuck and only cares about the rich.

Sad but true in most cases. While we want to blame the possibility the husband didn't exhaust all options , this sounds to me he did and was denied and had no other options. I'm not saying his action was right. There might of been another option but he was probably so stressed and depressed he couldn't see it. I have seen this with my own mother but she has my assistance and I'm there but some people get ignored or red taped. It's the times we live in.
 

Audioboxer

Member
I ain't gonna judge the guy. The story comes across as a mercy thing since she'd been sick for so long and having to endure that further without her medication would've probably been hard as hell. Definitely don't condone it though. I wonder she had consented?

It's a completely shitty situation for them to end up in.

That's hugely important here for sure. As horrific as trying to help care for someone can be, especially in this situation you cannot condone the guy killing his wife on his own accord.

Even with consent it's simply not that black and white but easier to empathise. I am pro assisted suicide, but more so in cases where someone can't be helped and is in agony. This situation is just an utterly depressing look at health care being a premium in the top rich world we live in. Rather than something that should be a necessity and a given to help humanity forward. This women can be helped but is priced out of help and left to die in pain.
 
Maybe it's just me, but shooting your spouse in the head seems like a rather unfriendly way to kill someone you love.

Well then count yourself lucky that you are not put in such a desperate situation where you would rather kill your loved one then see them suffer.

God bless America.
 

Paz

Member
Something is fucked up when you can afford a gun but not medication, that healthcare system needs an overhaul.

Whole situation is sad.
 

wiggleb0t

Banned
Opiate overdose.

Opiates in high doses causing CNS depression isn't a guaranteed way. People can end up living with brain damage.

It's can be a tragic road for elderly with money to buy the prescribed medication. Not being able to afford the medication can only make a living hell.
 
So like both universal healthcare AND gun regulation would have prevented this right?

Either way this is a tragedy. I'm wondering if they talked this out or did he just decide "I can't afford her medicine anymore, I should do something drastic about that" on his own accord?
 

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
I understand his plight and it really is depressing.

But that was not for him to decide.
 

Sanjuro

Member
So like both universal healthcare AND gun regulation would have prevented this right?

Either way this is a tragedy. I'm wondering if they talked this out or did he just decide "I can't afford her medicine anymore, I should do something drastic about that" on his own accord?

Don't believe either.

Universal Healthcare doesn't help everyone's needs.
There will always be guns.
 

Lemonheap

Banned
Awful that he had to go through that, whether you claim him to be a nutjob or not; doing something like that was terrible for him and he will live out his days in mental anguish. I will never understand those who argue that universal healthcare isn't essential.

I am glad I live in Korea. This would never happen here, I wish that the same could be said in the US.
 

GeoramA

Member
After seeing what mt grandma's going through, this country really doesn't give a shit about our seniors. Fubar is the only right word for it.
 

OceanBlue

Member
I understand where people in this thread are coming from but I can't help but be sympathetic for the man anyway. Taking care of someone is very mentally taxing. I could easily see him being depressed and being unable to imagine any other possibility. It's like a story about depressed people committing suicide. On some level, his brain might not be thinking about things in the same way that other people's do.
 

Kyoufu

Member
This is terrifying to me because if the Tories succeed in privatising the NHS then people here could find themselves in similar situations. Not necessarily murder but depression and ultimately suicide. It could happen to me since I spend a lot of time at my GP's clinic and the local hospital these days. Scary stuff.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Wow this is sad on so many levels. Even if the reason he gave isnt true, its still terrible that we have organized ourselves to that people go into poverty for paying for meds, while other have so much money that they have no idea what to do with it :(
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
Can't Americans import medicines from countries like India? The prices in the US are a rip-off.

Sad story and I sympathize. Although, shooting her was fucked up :(
 

Huff

Banned
Out of curiosity could you expand on why you believe universal healthcare would not have helped this woman and prevented this incident?

Universal healthcare doesn't mean everything is free or that there aren't issues in affording mediation, especially in certain chronic conditions.

This family had insurance - medicare - and couldn't afford their medications. It's why the elderly that can afford it will have additional insurance to cover what medicare doesn't.
 

*Splinter

Member
Absolutely heartbreaking. Fuck anyone who supports a system that puts people in situations like this.

E: Agree that the thread title is insensitive
 

Kevtones

Member
Maybe it's just me, but shooting your spouse in the head seems like a rather unfriendly way to kill someone you love.



Death isn't easy.




I'd like to think a couple this aged put forth their options. They know better than us, obviously. Shame this man is being tried for an act of love (apparently).
 

IISANDERII

Member
I understand where people in this thread are coming from but I can't help but be sympathetic for the man anyway. Taking care of someone is very mentally taxing. I could easily see him being depressed and being unable to imagine any other possibility. It's like a story about depressed people committing suicide. On some level, his brain might not be thinking about things in the same way that other people's do.
Yea I cannot even begin to think about judging this man.
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.
 

tkscz

Member
I don't buy that he had to shoot her for money alone. If the fiances were that dire, they could have tried to have her qualify for Medicaid on top of Medicare: https://www.agingcare.com/Articles/elderly-parent-qualify-for-medicaid-136276.htm
https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-c...iors-and-medicare-and-medicaid-enrollees.html

Unfortunately it doesn't work that easy. Medicaid is actually pretty difficult to get on, even when it seems simple. There was still a chance she would've been denied over and over before they gave it to her (think somewhat like SSI). Even then, they might not have even known medicaid was a thing.
 
Ugh, this hits me hard because my grandfather in Florida has been struggling with his wife's medical expenses as well. But I've been sending him money so hopefully nothing like this will ever happen.
Still, incredibly tragic story. This fucking country's healthcare is a joke.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Can't Americans import medicines from countries like India? The prices in the US are a rip-off.

Sad story and I sympathize. Although, shooting her was fucked up :(

I don't think you can just import the sort of medicine they needed. Plus they'd still probably need to consult with a doctor.
 
No Medicare?

Medicare actually comes in four parts. Only the first part is given to everyone over 65 and it only covers hospital/hospice expenses for the most part. The other parts of Medicare are both not guaranteed and require a premium just like normal health care. Prescription drugs are only covered in part 4.

Isn't the point of Obamacare to help people in this situation.

No, it isn't and it doesn't.

Source: I now sell supplemental insurance. Our business has never been better since the ACA because costs for most people have actually gone up, while benefits have almost universally gone down (unless you were already at the minimum benefits or didn't have any health care coverage). There are more people with huge gaps in their health care now than before the ACA. Or at least, that's what we're seeing in our business and we specifically sell insurance that fills those gaps. But hey, at least people can say they have health care coverage - even if it's stupidly expensive and covers basically nothing.
 
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