A Heartfelt Choice

The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador elected to have his recent heart operation performed in the United States, not Canada.

"This is my heart, it's my health, it's my choice."

With these words, Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams defended his decision to hop the border and go under the knife for heart surgery in Florida.

The minimally invasive mitral valve surgery he needed is not available in Newfoundland, he told his province's NTV News channel in the first part of an interview aired last night.

"Did some checking, of course, and what was ultimately done to me, the surgery I eventually got ... was not offered to me in Canada," he said.

Apparently, it was available in Canada but what matters is the premier chose who wielded the knife and where it was done, not some government committee. Does the average Joe in Canada have that choice? Will the average Joe in the United States have that choice should ObamaCare be enacted? (That is increasingly unlikely, thankfully.)