Euthanasia eases suffering
Legalization of assisted suicide helps patients,
families cope

As the United States government continues its standstill in the wake of the closest presidential election ever, other countries, such as Holland, continue to make advances for the future.

Holland, a country known for its liberal policies toward drugs and prostitutes, passed legislation in Parliament Tuesday allowing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. The bill, which passed in the house by a vote of 140-40, needs approval in the senate before it can become law next year.

The law will make Holland the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia.

But don’t start packing up your urns just yet. Foreigners won’t be allowed to participate in Holland’s euthanasia laws. In fact, the practice will only be performed on patients undergoing irremediable and unbearable suffering who are aware of all other medical options and have sought a second professional opinion, according to the law.

The move by the Dutch government to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is a victory for patient rights advocates. Opponents may argue that the law is turning physicians into killers and Christians may attack it as a one-way ticket to hell.

The Dutch decision makes their country a forerunner in a likely 21st century trend to honor human rights by taking one’s life to avoid pain and suffering.

Already in the United States, physician-assisted suicide has garnered attention from millions following the trials of Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian and his numerous patients who have died with his help. He has thus far been acquitted of any wrongdoing in those deaths.

In 1997, assisted suicides became legal in Oregon, but so far, no other countries or states have attempted to legalize euthanasia, which allows the doctor to actually administer a lethal dose directly.

So, what does the law actually mean for terminally ill patients?

It means that for once, people suffering from cancer, AIDS and the many other horrible diseases in the world, will have the final say in where their lives are headed.

No longer will our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and best friends have to live their final days suffering and in pain. Instead, they will be able to leave life on their terms.

What right does anyone have to tell those people that they must hang on and suffer more than they already do?

Terminally ill patients deserve the right to control their destinies more than anything else. People should be fortunate that we have doctors in this world who care enough about people that they would grant them their dying wish.

Doctors, especially those caring for the terminally ill, have one of the most difficult jobs: preparing people for death. In all of their medical textbooks, nowhere are there ideal guidelines that teach them how to help these people.

At the moment a doctor knows his patient is going to die, he has an obligation to share that with his patient. At that time, he should have the right to offer them help expecting that inevitability. If that help involves euthanasia, so be it.

America is far from being as liberal as Holland. However, our citizens are suffering from the same diseases, the same pain and the same decisions as terminally ill people in Holland.

It’s time for America to start believing in individuals and their right to death. It seems to me that this country was founded on a principle about the pursuit of happiness. Maybe it’s time America leaves the decision about happiness up to the individual citizen.

James Zwilling is a sophomore news-editorial journalism major from Phoenix, Ariz.
He can be reached at (james_zwilling@usa.net).

The end of yet another semester offers us here, at the Skiff, a chance to reflect on the four months and 55 issues we have spent holed up in the recesses of the Moudy Building South.

Two weeks from today, final exams will come to an end and students, faculty and staff will find their ways back home — whether it be a few minutes or a few 100 miles away — leaving behind a semester’s worth of memories.

As journalists, we’ve had the opportunity to see and document both the best and worst events that left an indelible impression in many people’s minds.

n The mostly triumphant 2000 football season — albeit with the disappointment of probably not being selected for a Bowl Championship Series game — the likes of which haven’t been seen at TCU since World War II.

n The courageous members of the Wedgwood Baptist Church congregation, who have managed to survive and persevere little more than one year after gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook went on a killing spree in the church’s sanctuary.

n The healthy return of Robbyn Kindle, the TCU alumna who underwent a four-organ transplant last May after a protracted, and near fatal, battle against liver disease. And she still found time to graduate with a bachelor of science in nutrition and dietetics.

For a look at the other events that have shaped this semester, check out our two-page photo spread on pages 6 and 7.

Should you not remember this semester with any particular fondness, remember that next semester or, if you’re graduating, the next phase of life, will offer opportunities to make new memories.

In the meantime, enjoy your break from classes and thank you for giving us chance to bring you some of the events that make up the best and worst of our memories.