Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Euthanasia in Oregon: so much for the pain argument

Euthanasia trivia time: since Oregon approved euthanasia in 1994, what percentage of requests for "assisted death" were for untreatable pain? Answer: Zero. That's right. Even though fear of unbearable pain is one of the chief reasons people support euthanasia, patients actually get euthanized for reasons such as loneliness and not wanting to be a burden on others. This letter from an Oregon doctor to his Canadian neighbours is very persuasive: the Oregon system is not a road British Columbia should venture down.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave a comment about this post.

Rules for commenting

Posts and comments to The Busy Catholic must be marked by Christian charity and respect for the truth. They should be on topic and presume the good will of other contributors. Discussion should take place primarily from a faith perspective. We reserve the right to end discussion on any topic any time we feel the discussion is no longer productive.