Care for dying
When SB 128, the euphemistically tagged, aid-in-dying bill, was withdrawn for lack of support recently in the California State Legislature, this outcome seemed totally out of character for the one-party rule in our state, yet characteristic of the history of the campaign for suicide-by-doctor nationwide.
As the Patients Rights Council reports, there has been no “domino effect” of legalization in the U.S., since Oregon became the first state to permit medically assisted suicide in 1994. It took 14 years for the next approval to squeak by, in Washington state. Vermont joined the rather exclusive club in 2013. So there are three to date, although there have been more than 140 legislative proposals in 30 states since Oregon started the ball rolling in 1994.
As the proportion of the vulnerable poor, elderly and handicapped grows in the U.S., and as medical costs increase, there is no doubt of the cost-saving temptations that suicide-by-doctor presents.
Our lives are not our own, and care of the dying is a duty and a privilege. When secularization succeeds in killing off these views, we may expect a far more rapid success for the euthanasia movement.
Roberta Genini, Fresno
This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Care for dying."