U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, caused a stir this week with her comments in the U.S. House.
During debate over health-care overhaul plans, Foxx said Tuesday that the Republican version of the bill "is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government."
The statement reflects Foxx's wish to keep the current House health-care bill free of tax money for end-of-life counseling and abortion, said her spokesman, Aaron Groen.
Foxx's comments echoed the concerns of several high-profile conservatives who have said that the current House bill could lead the government to encourage euthanasia for ailing seniors.
Bob Garner, a spokesman for AARP North Carolina which is backing the bill, dismissed that threat.
Though a provision of the bill offers Medicare coverage for consultation on life-sustaining treatments and such end-of-life services as hospice, participation in such programs would remain optional, Garner said.
"There's an opportunity, not a requirement, to prepare a living will," he said.
A living will allows seniors to tell their family how doctors should handle life-threatening situations. Someone may request measures to prolong their life or refuse extensive medical treatment, depending on their personal wishes.
"The bill does not attempt to dictate in any way what seniors choose to do," and the idea that the government could tell seniors how to die is a distortion of the plan, Garner said.
Some North Carolina leaders, including Andrew Whalen, the executive director of the state's Democratic Party, were frustrated by Foxx's remarks. "I don't think that any plan, be it Republican or Democratic, is going to put seniors to death," he said.
State leadership should focus on solving the current health-care crisis instead of making inflammatory accusations, Whalen said.
"There are a lot of folks that suffer every day that we don't address," including seniors, children and families, he said.
This is the second time in the past few months that Foxx has aroused controversy on a hot-button political issue. She drew criticism in April for saying that the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay man in Wyoming, was not a hate crime. Two men pleaded guilty to killing him and testified that they singled him out because he was gay
Groen said that Foxx, in her comments Tuesday, wants to keep the government from making moral judgments on such issues as abortion or euthanasia.
"The great thing that she was pointing out is that the Republican alternative (on health care) does neither of those," he said.
■ Christian Kloc can be reached at 727-7270 or at ckloc@wsjournal.com.
■ The New York Times contributed to this article.
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