Greg Sargent has Susan Collins' Number.

Sargent writes:

On May 22nd, Senators Collins and Jay Rockefeller introduced the “Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act,” according to a press release sent over by a source. The measure provides Medicare funding “for advance care planning so that patients can routinely talk to their physicians about their wishes for end-of-life care,” the release says.

Now she opposes health care reform. Kind of undermines the Republican accusation that item 1233 would encourage euthanasia. What's changed since May? Sargent's promised to call her and ask.

McCotter's in Deep Crazy.

While Boehner's is the big name on Friday's wicked statement that warned health care reform could lead the nation toward, "government-encouraged euthanasia", Michigan representative Thaddeus McCotter was co-author. A Michigan pub specifically takes him down for the crazy!

And McCotter's not just responsible for one kind of crazy. He's also behind the bill that requires Obama apologize to Cambridge police for, well, calling a spade a spade. Ahem.

If that weren't loco enough, he's also a birther. Caught on video. Placating the crazy.

That, my friends, complete's this week's crazy trifecta. We have us a real winner.

Your Morning Update!

Euthanasia and Health Care in the News:

Adele Stan recaps Obama's response at an AARP event.

Steven Ertelt, the busiest anti-choice blogger in America, has a post on how Catholics are being called out for their "hypocritical" support of the health care bill. More hypocrites news.

Joanne Kenen at New Life Dialogue Blog lays out what actually is in article 1233 of the health care reform bill. She cites Representative Earl Blumenauer's post at Huffpo, Stop Distorting the Truth about End of Life Care, and his Myth vs. Fact sheet.

The Catholic Medical Association makes its case against the public option, and essentially, everything else in the current bill (while very astutely saying reform is still needed). Two interesting points: “In a July 2 interview, President Obama promised a ‘robust conscience clause.’ We think it is time to deliver the text of that conscience clause and make conscience protection an integral part of any health-care reform legislation.” Conscience clause issues are particulary important to Catholic hospitals. They refuse to perform services that the bill currently provides for and have been nervous about their fate since the administration put a hold on the conscience clause early in the year.

Second point: The House Tri-Committee bill never mentions the word “abortion, but most analysts think that, without explicit exclusion, abortion will be mandated by the Secretary of HHS and/or by the courts. According to Breschi, “Few people realize that, as things stand, abortion could be a required benefit in all health insurance plans, and it would be subsidized not only in health-care premiums, but also through taxation. This unjust mandate must be excluded.” HHS mandated abortion. The paragraph is poorly written and because it follows the one about conscience clauses, I assume their concern is that hospitals will be required to perform abortions. But it could also read that HHS will have the power to determine who must have abortions. Misleading, to say the least.

Today the British Supreme Court rules on a case that will decide whether assisted suicide is legal or not.

Factcheck.org debunks euthanasia charges - and includes an image of Dr. Strangelove?

And from dkos.