Letters in the Editor's Mailbag

Byline: The Register-Guard

Right-to-die is gaining ground

The Oregon Legislature has taken a backhoe to crush a hen's egg in the case of the helium hood kits for sale. Dozens of Oregonians have already stocked up with their kits. What the legislators, the FBI and the media don't understand is that in this age of stressful modern medicine, longer living and degenerative diseases, a lot of people plan in advance to speed up their end if need be.

They may not in the end choose to kill themselves. But they want insurance against a protracted, painful, expensive death that is putting awful strains on the family. When they have a stash of lethal drugs or a helium hood kit it is a great consolation for far more people than is realized.

Evidence of that trend in advance health thinking is that the right-to-die groups in America and around the world were never stronger in leadership, membership or finances. Step by step the movement is getting physician-assisted suicide laws in place - 10 places so far. Other nations and states, most notably the United Kingdom and Australia, are close to reforming their laws on euthanasia.

That a few mentally troubled people sometimes use drugs …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: Letters in the Editor's Mailbag. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Register Guard (Eugene, OR). Publication date: June 28, 2011. Page number: A10. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.