As Dr. Kervorkian is released from prison it seems worthy of revisiting the question "Who has the right to end the life of a terminally ill patient?" The suicide assisting pathologist served eight years in jail for his role in the death of a patient with ALS or Lou Gerhig's disease. In all he helped over 130 end their terminal illnesses from 1990 to 1998.
So who can end the life of an already dying person? In Texas it's no one other than the state and it's based in part on financial reasons. Then Governor and now President Bush signed it into law in 1999.
Contrasting the two situations a patient of sound mind cannot purposefully end their suffering but the state can pull the plug on people wanting to live. Which sounds more inhumane? Yet while one perpetrator lingered in jail, the other got elected to the White House.
In our free country the state can end your life with no recourse, but you cannot choose to do so on your own.
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