State following up on rumors of euthanasia.

A state investigation into whether critically ill patients were left to die or were euthanized at a New Orleans hospital during the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is part of a probe into an estimated 215 deaths at nursing homes and hospitals across the area, according to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

The Louisiana attorney general's office, which is overseeing the inquiry, has launched a "monumental investigation" that is examining what happened to patients and residents at 19 hospitals and nursing homes, spokeswoman Kris Wartelle said. The scope of the probe — which now includes 21% of the 1,035 Louisiana deaths linked to the Aug. 29 hurricane — came to light after a doctor at New Orleans' Memorial Medical Center alleged that some of the 45 patients who died there might have been euthanized to end their suffering.

Let's remember who did the planning that allowed all those deaths to happen as well.