Federal Judiciary

Death Be Not Proud -- By: Kathryn Jean Lopez

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Earlier this summer, former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin was criticized for deploying hyperbole in her opposition to health-care-reform legislation. Palin warned of ?death panels,? and in doing so she convinced certain lawmakers to withdraw proposals for ?end-of-life counseling? boards that would parcel out advice in a government-controlled health-care system.

She could have been more sober in her choice of language. But these are alarming times, and Palin?s attention-grabbing language highlighted some of the life-and-death issues being debated on Capitol Hill. Considering that, under the Democrats? proposed legislation, vital health-care decisions will very possibly be made in closed-door conference committee, perhaps the more people hear, the better.

After all, here in the United States, we don?t have a good track record when it comes to fending off a creeping culture of death. Leave aside abortion -- the killing of the most vulnerable, who?ve never had a say over their own preservation. Recall that one of our president?s regrets is that while in the Senate, he did not do his part to stop lawmakers from attempting to save the life of Terri Schiavo, a brain-injured Floridian who ultimately was taken off food and hydration in 2005 and died a short time later. It was a mess of a case, certainly, involving warring family members, courts, and a media feeding frenzy, but Obama?s statement was a bold one.

Consider also that voters in Oregon and Washington have legalized assisted suicide, and that Montana, by court order, has followed suit. Assisted suicide, in fact, is a mainstream practice here in America. Charlotte Shultz, wife of former secretary of state George Shultz, recently agreed to co-chair a luncheon held by a group called Compassion & Choices of Northern California. The other co-chair will be a sitting U.S. senator, Dianne Feinstein.

We seem to be following the lead of our former ruler. Not too long after Palin?s ?death panel? comments, the United Kingdom loosened its restrictions on assisted suicide. This move came in response to a court order in the case of Debbie Purdy, a woman who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Purdy wanted to ensure that, should she decide to kill herself, her husband would not be punished for giving her a hand.

The U.K.?s top prosecutor has now listed 13 types of cases in which assisted suicide will not be prosecuted. Among them are the following: ?The victim had a clear, settled and informed wish to commit suicide?; ?The victim indicated unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide?; ?The victim asked personally on his or her own initiative for the assistance of the suspect?; and ?The victim had: a terminal illness; or a severe and incurable physical disability; or a severe degenerative physical condition; from which there was no possibility of recovery.?

Wesley J. Smith, an associate director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, calls the new guidelines ?an astonishing abandonment of the most weak and vulnerable in society.?

Before the court order, U.K. residents had been making use of liberal laws in Switzerland, where those seeking what they call a ?dignified? end can utilize a Zurich-based suicide clinic named Dignitas. According to news reports, about 115 U.K. citizens have obtained aid in killing themselves there. That number includes a renowned orchestra conductor and his wife who committed suicide this summer. She had terminal cancer and he was blind. According to their son, ?They wanted to be next to each other when they died.? In 2002, the director of Dignitas likened such a choice to the split-second decision made by people ?who jumped from the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.? Never mind the palliative and other options open to most of us who are not facing imminent death in a fiery, collapsing inferno.

In the coming weeks, physician Michael Irwin may face court proceedings for enabling a man with pancreatic cancer to travel to the Swiss clinic and commit suicide. As the law stands, Irwin could be prosecuted for ?encouraging? the suicide by providing money for it. But he is hoping for a legal battle. Commenting on the recently loosened U.K. guidelines, he expressed his desire to fight for more: ?The ideal form of assisted suicide is doctor-assisted, but who is going to give out the medication in the U.K.? This means people will still want to go to Switzerland. I want Parliament to change the law so that doctors can openly help people.?

Given the new British laws, Dignitas London may not be too far away. What?s stopping it, now that it?s been determined that those who suffer -- a remarkably broad category of people -- are not really worthy of protection, even from themselves?

Anyone?

Copyright 2009, Kathryn Jean Lopez. Distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Full post as published by Bench Memos - National Review Online on September 28, 2009 (boomark / email).