WHERE DID Mary Shaw research her op-ed "Dr. Santorum's malpractice Rx," a slap at Sen. Rick Santorum for wanting to cap the awards in medical-malpractice lawsuits?

"It's not about lawyers. It's not about greed. It's about the rights of everyday people who suddenly find themselves victims of preventable medical errors," Shaw wrote.

Then she offered examples of what "the issue is really all about": "It's about the baby who'll have to live with cerebral palsy and mental retardation because of mismanaged labor and delivery."

While a problem during the birth of a baby is a possible cause of retardation, cerebral palsy is not caused by factors occurring during labor or delivery. Cerebral palsy is a congenital malformation of the brain, which means that it existed at birth and did not develop when the baby was delivered.

Ironically, this false medical assertion is the same one that made former U.S. senator, Democratic vice-presidential candidate and lawyer John Edwards a millionaire. Perhaps Shaw and Edwards attended the same school of medical thought.

As litigators like Edwards prospered, doctors' insurance rates tripled in North Carolina. Many left the state, especially those who practiced in rural areas. Others who lost cases to Edwards went bankrupt. Consumers faced rising health-care costs.

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