Aug 15, 2009 10:09 pm US/Eastern

Obama Invokes Grandmother’s Death In Health Debate

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo NYC cigar. (AP) ―

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President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting on health insurance Aug New York NY casino las vegas. 15, 2009, at Central High School in Grand Junction, Colo NYC local law 5.

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Barack Obama with his grandparents, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Payne Dunham.

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Now, it’s personal.

President Barack Obama invoked his own anguish over the death of a loved one as he challenged the debunked notion that Democratic efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care would include "death panels."

"I just lost my grandmother last year New York theater play. I know what it’s like to watch somebody you love, who’s aging, deteriorate and have to struggle with that," an impassioned Obama told a crowd as he spoke of Madelyn Payne Dunham mount sinai medical centre New York.

He took issue with "the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so they can go around pulling the plug on grandma."

"When you start making arguments like that, that’s simply dishonest — especially when I hear the arguments coming from members of Congress in the other party who, turns out, sponsored similar provisions," Obama said.

Video: Obama Calls Out Health Insurance Companies

In a debate in which he often sounds professor-like, Obama spoke with a rare bit of emotion that seemed to counter that of vocal health care opponents as he referenced the beloved grandmother who helped raise him and who he called "Toot." She died of cancer at age 86 on Nov Manhattan regarding. 2, two days before he won election to become the nation’s first African-American president.

He talked about her death while answering a question about misinformation being spread about Democratic health care efforts during a town hall style gathering in a high school gymnasium.

"Health care is really hard negligent security lawyers NYC. This is not easy mommies NYC. I’m a reasonably dedicated student to this issue mercy health center Manhattan ks. I’ve got a lot of really smart people around me who’ve been working on this for months now," he said New York used trucks. "There is no perfect painless silver bullet out there that solves every problem, gives everybody health care for free New York times headlines archive. There isn’t New York tourist map.

I wish there was."

More: Health Care Town Hall Meetings Getting Ugly
More: Obama’s Health Care Push Mirrors Campaign Run
More: Town Hall Protests Not Just About Health Care

But he said that because there’s no perfect solution to solving health care, opponents "start saying things like we want to set up death panels to pull the plug on grandma."

The president is seeking to put to rest claims that the health care overhaul he seeks would set up "death panels" to rule on life-sustaining care for ailing seniors minardi salon NYC. It would not, and Obama has stressed that point repeatedly over the past week.

Obama reiterated his contention that the Democratic health care legislation would not create "death panels" to deny care to frail seniors New York subway rolling stock. Obama has explained that the provision that has caused the uproar would only authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care, living wills, hospice care and other issues, if the patient wants it.

Conservatives have called end-of-life counseling in government health care programs like Medicare a step toward euthanasia and former Alaska Gov new museum NYC. Sarah Palin has likened the idea to a bureaucratic "death panel" that would decide whether sick people get to live New York mets baseball academy. Those claims have been widely discredited but the issue remains a political weapon in the increasingly bitter health care debate. New York aquarium in Brooklyn. marquis NYC bar.