EDITORIAL
Right to die needs
strong safeguards
When Washington citizens go to the voting booth
Tuesday, they will be deciding on one of the most divi*
live current issues. Although abortion is on the ballot,
that issue is surprisingly being dwarfed by the measure
supporting the right lor people to decide when their
lives are over.
Do people have the right to die when modem med
icine runs out of options? Everybody has an opinion on
the subject, and the proponants and the opponents are
equally vehement.
Backers of Initiative 119. or "Dignity with Death,"
have lined up terminally ill patients to show support
for the measure. Opponents are countering with televi
sion spots showing people who were diagnosed as ter
minally ill but recovered. Both sides' media campaigns
are designed to hit voters squarely in their morality. If
the acrimonious debate Initiative 119 has sparked is
any indication, the advertising agencies have succeed
ed.
The issue is not new. Living wills have been
around for years, and there is even a how-to suicide
book, Final Exit, on the stands. Rut Washington is the
first state to offer such a hill
.Specifically, initiative 119 would allow patients
who have been diagnosed with having less than six
months to live to commit doctor-assisted suicide.
There is no residency requirement, which opens up a
whole new problem
Should the measure
pass, tragic consequences
are possible. Poverty-lad
en patients might feel
pressured to end their
lives Seedy relatives look
ing for inheritance money
could persuade patients
into the act.
There are several po
tential problems, but they
do not come close to out
weighing the importance
of this bill. Washington
voters need to pass Initia
tive 119.
lust as in the abortion
debate, the issue is the
definition of "life.' Life is precious, but so is mercy. Is
it "life" to spend the lust six months of one's existence
hooked up to machines, wired with electrodes and
stuffed with tubes, in pain, with no hope for recovery?
Obviously not Mercy and dignity are two very impor
tant parts of life. To be stripped of both makes life not
worth living.
Rut there need to he steel-hawser safeguards at
tached to Initiative 119. The decision will have to rest
solely with the patient, to circumvent undue pressure.
Patients need to be informed of their rights, their op
tions and the consequences before deciding on the sui
cide option.
Even if initiative 119 fails (nobody is making any
predictions), its importance will not diminish. A dia
logue has been established where none has over exist
ed. As long as people are talking about the subject, the
possibility of a solution amenable to both sides exists.
Is n “life” to
spend the lest six
months of one’s
existence hooked
up to machines,
wired with
electrodes end
stuffed with
tubes, In pain,
with no hope for
recovery?
Obviously not
LETTERS POLICY
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LETTERS
No business
Some time ago the St««11?
Hoard of Higher Fducation held
a fake public hearing a! the
University on its proposal to
hurl out the more than $(i mil
lion deficit run up by the Uni
versity. Oregon St.ite Umversl
tv ami Portland State athletic
departments
I attended the meeting to
venture my opinion that the
University hud no business in
the business of subsidizing
high-cost minor-league expert
erne for National Football
League and National basketball
Association players at the ex
pense of its primary education
al mission
1 also wanted to ascertain il.
as rumored, the hoard members
had (leads filled with pressur
ized air in the shape of foot
balls and basketballs
Alberto Salazar, local restau
rateur. predictably spoke in fa
vor of public welfare for the
three athletic departments m
e\< ess of S i million annually
lie urged the hoard to dismiss
as unrepresentative the opin
ions of the "political" students
and faculty who opposed this
special funding at the expense
of ai adeinic quality
According to this view, of
course, the gaggle of pampered
athletes, the head of the ('.ham
her ol Uuminerce, the hospital
itv industry representatives, the
purveyors of Fighting l)ui k
paraphernalia, etc were not a
w ellorganized, spec I.il-interest.
politic al fore e Apparently il
ynu're in it for the bucks rather
than educational principle,
then it's not "political
Bs the way, when will athlet
it dire* tor Hill B\ rue In- offi
cially inaugurated as president
of the University ' I'd like- to at
tend the ceremony
Jerome* (larger
Fugene
Yep
The Cafe An oppressive ruin
brats incessantly upon foggy
window s Inside, an emancipat
ed young woman sits at a cor
ner table reading Burroughs'
lanky to illustrate her misan
thropic disposition.
She holds the book high for
all to see, occasionally scan
rung the room for looks of ap
proval A black cloak is rapped
tightly around her shoulders
like the confining foreskin of
the great patriarch
She jots macabre prose in a
!altered journal- "I lament an
existential existence of social
misunderstanding in a bleak
and absurd world. As I struggle
lor diversity and peace in l-.'u
gene, t' S companies harness
mother earth with fences of in
dustry across her gentle back.
A guilty man sits at the next
table He hasn't long, peaceful
hair, nor does he don a blac k
cloak But lic> is indulging In
death! An animal's slam corpse
he so euphemistically calls a
hamburger lays whimpering
and bleeding in his hairy, s io
lating claws As the man
thrusis his teeth into the inno
c ent flesh, testosterone drips
from the lips of Columbus 1
stare in horror ut the manifesta
tion of evils past "
Disconsolate and head hung
low, she rubs feces all over her
body to affirm her indepen
dence A tear dri|is from her
pale cheek and splashes vio
lently into a pool of house cof
fee She sees how quickly
something so beautiful and
unique as a iear will c onform to
the bitter, homogeneous caf
feine
Once again the interaction of
nature and humanity imitates
art, resonating a metaphor of
injustice against the alternative
citizens w ithin our community.
Ryan Blac ketler
English
Miss
something?
We have a question (or Lucas
Gutman Which Other I'eojile's
Money dill you watch? Your re
view [ODE. Oct 25) could not
possibly have (teen for the mov
ie vve saw last weekend That
one was a rental at best; the
script was dull and predictable
while the plot ended without a
measurable climax
I’he fairy-tale ending was so
contrived and unbelievable one
could only stare at the rolling
credits and ask. "Did I just miss
something really trig here?"
As long time fans of Danny
DeVito (Taxi, Ruthless I’eople.
lewd ol the Nila, IV',ir of the
Hoses), we were disappointed
to see him accept such an un
demanding role Penelope Ann
Miller's performance was terri
tile Her character never (level
ops [last the tired "tough" and
sexy" exterior that serves as
a worthy opponent" to the
shallow Larry (DeVito)
Neither character is con vine
mg m his or her forced attrae
non (dare we say love affair7)
DeVito's interest is purely
physical lust while we never
really see just what attracts
Miller to DeVito Something
physical? Doubtful.
We agree that the Gregory
Per k we saw was the same one
you describe His performance
was strong vet it does nothing
to save the whole production
You wrote that this is a "dial
lengmg film to watch" VVu can
only reply that it was challeng
ing to enjoy.
Three and a halt stars' NOD
Maybe two (maybe)
Eric J. Anctil
English/History
Tina M Peterman
Human Services
OLi NORTH
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