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The Daily Dose/June 23, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Notes from around the Human Experience...Pics will return next time!
A TIME TO DIE: A petition drive in Washington state is trying to put a right-to-die initiative on the November ballot. Honestly, we're so laissez-faire here at the old Shack it wouldn't bother us if the initiative was to but state suicide stands up in every town, but this measure would merely allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to someone who has been told by a doctor they have six months or less to live.
It would also require two doctors to certify the mental competency of the individual, and doctors would only be allowed to prescribe the lethal medication, not help administer it.
This Will Surprise You: The measure is opposed by all the usual folks: the Catholic Church, those right-wing Christian zealots who oppose everything that does not conform to their own world view, as well as right-to-life groups and disabled advocates, who we actually kinda like.
Yawn: The debate is falling along traditional right-to-die lines. Proponents say the terminally ill, already sentenced to death, should be allowed to grab the bull by the horns and say 'enough'. This is not a completely unreasonable argument. We realize that most people would fight tooth and nail for every last breath, but most people are not everybody. People are different.
And In This Corner: Opponents of the measure - few, if any, are actually terminally ill - say only God can star as God and they also point out, correctly, that doctors are not perfect and sometimes make wrong diagnosis, and it certainly isn't uncommon for people to live long after a doctor said they would.
Quote That Sucker: One opponent of the initiative called suicide "irrational and selfish".
Yeah, Well: So what? Me going to a buffet is irrational and selfish. Just because something is irrational or selfish, or even against your own personal moral code, doesn't mean other shouldn't be allowed to engage in it. We are also hearing the usual drivel about life being so precious it should be held on to at all costs and never abandoned under any circumstances.
Dry, Technical Matter: Don't do it then. Just because something is legal doesn't make it mandatory. If assisted suicide isn't for you, don't engage in it. But leave it for others to decide for themselves.
As Long As We're In The Area: Which brings up a trouble spot with issues like this, where either there really isn't a victim or the issue will not affect a large number of people (Oregon has had 341 assisted deaths in 10 years): opponents are not content to leave a matter of this nature in the realm of someone's personal morality. They are against it, so it must be bad for everyone else and it must be fought on all fronts.
A Question: But should a terminally ill person be denied a chance to die because a group was able to muster the votes to prevent an assisted suicide law from taking effect?
We'll Answer That For You: No, they should not. It's nice organized religion is taking an interest in their state government. We encourage that because an active and informed electorate keeps the rascals in power on their toes and is key to our democracy's survival. And they are certainly entitled to set the morals pace for their members or those under their jurisdiction. But to block the passage of a measure that is really not going to affect them one way or the other? That is wrong.
Cut To The Chase: Look, if people want to die, they should be allowed to die. People are, more or less, in control of their life and there is no reason someone who is of a mind to do so should not be allowed take control of his death and be able to have competent medical authority assist them with ending their life without fear of legal sanction.
The $64,000 Question: But should a government provide legal protection for those who help them? This is a good question. Official Writer's Shack policy dictates that government exists to provide for the liberty of its citizens, and, certainly, the freedom of choosing when you are going to die is included in that - so long, of course, as it does not interfere with my right to live as long as I can.
Get Your Official Writer's Shack Policy Right Here: There is a place in society for competent medical authority to help the terminally ill die, though we realize there may or may not be a place in professional medical ethics for competent medical authority to help the terminally ill die. That's their lookout, not ours. But should there be doctors willing to prescribe lethal medication to the terminally ill, there should be legal safeguards in place to facilitate this.
TOKEN ON THIS DATE ACTION: On this date in 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee received a patent for his invention called the "Type-Writer". It was based on an earlier patent he had received for a page-numbering machine. In 1873 he would invent the QWERTY keyboard after an associate suggest splitting up common letter combinations to avoid jamming.
A Day Off: Our 1908 Chicago Cubs had the day off. They open a five-game series at home against the Reds tomorrow. The Writer's Shack will be there with more or less full coverage.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The 1921 National Collegiate Track and Field Championships were the first NCAA championships held. They were held at the University of Chicago and were won by Illinois.
Today's Stumper: R and D has the day off. The trivia question will return.
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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