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Right to die at own time a fundamental freedom

Oct. 4, 2005

by EDITORIAL STAFF

People in this country have a lot of freedoms. But right now the right to choose when they die isn't universally accepted as one of them.

On Thursday, Dr. Robert Baird, professor of philosophy, spoke on the subject of physician-assisted suicide during the Cornelia Marshall Smith Professor of the Year Award lecture.

Baird said he endorsed doctors giving dying patients pills or injections so they could end their lives. He said the moral decision-making was "risky business" and the decision of dying should involve tight parameters for approval.

The Supreme Court will hear a crucial case this month that could change the present law. Oregon allows physician-assisted suicide for people with terminal diseases, and the court will decide whether that law is constitutional.

Physician-assisted suicide is illegal in Texas. People in our society have rights, freedoms and choices throughout their lives. Death is just another one of those decisions.

Many people in the world are and have been suffering, but see no end to their pain without death. In these cases, they should be able to ask their doctor, someone they trust, to put an end to their suffering.

But that's a slippery slope.

Patients have to be fully informed of their choices -- as well as the possible consequences of those choices -- before committing to a very literal life-or-death decision.

They should make their decisions to undergo physician-assisted suicide weeks before it would happen. That way, they could back out if they change their minds. It would also give them time to consider the spiritual and moral ramifications of the decision.

The real danger that comes into play when we open up the possibility for physician-assisted suicide is that people who might not want to die could be euthanized by family members. That's what we have to avoid.

But people have a lot choices to make during the course of their lives. Shouldn't they be able to choose when and how to end it?

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