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Opening Arguments

Death with dignity

Get sick, get doctor. How hard is that?

GLADSTONE, Ore. - Authorities say a teenager from a faith-healing family died from an illness that could have been easily treated, just a few months after a toddler cousin of his died in a case that has led to criminal charges.

Tuesday's death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley, however, may not be a crime because Oregon law allows minors 14 and older to decide for themselves whether to accept medical treatment.

Oregon officials might want to consider the possibility that 14 is too young to make life-and-death decisions. But they've made their state the only one to encourage people to kill themselves, so maybe they don't give a damn.

Comments

Harl Delos
Thu, 06/19/2008 - 9:56am

We allow 14-year-olds to choose to play golf, risking the possibility that they'll turn into cripples.

We allow 14-year-olds to choose to wear thong underwear, risking the possibility that they'll go blind.

And if 14 isn't old enough, how old should you be to claim ownership of your own life? Is there a state in the union that insists 14-year-old murderers go to juvenile court, rather than being tried as adults?

Oregon isn't the only state that makes suicide legal. It's legal in all 50 states. The only thing different in Oregon is that they make it possible to enlist the assistance of your physician.

In Indiana, to commit suicide, you drive head-on into traffic, or wave a toy gun around in a manner that fools a cop into shooting you. Do you really want to face kamikazi traffic? Do you want a cop shooting at someone on one side of a wall, when your daughter is working on the other side of that wall?

gadfly
Thu, 06/19/2008 - 8:34pm

Humans playing God is a favorite ploy of the 'progressive" left. First they decided that women could kill their unborn with the help of doctors and now:

"Oregon is the only state where it is legal for a doctor to prescribe, on request, a lethal drug dose. The patient must make the request orally and in writing, with a 15-day waiting period between requests. The patient must be able to swallow the drug without help from a doctor or anyone else."

Forty-nine died this way in Oregon last year. Perhaps these doctors might want to visit Dr. Kevorkian in Michigan where the law does not favor assisted suicide.

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