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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1995)
EDITORIALS. OPINIONS, LETTERS TO THE EOITOR Terminally ill patients wounded by ‘concern’ ■ OUR OPINION Re • of assisted suicide minimizes choice If (loath ho not proud, limn ()regunl<ms should rejoice ahoul judge Michael Hogan's ruling last week that tin' state's doctor-assist od suit ido law is unconsti tutional. Unfortunately, pr«* venting suffering people from ending their lives in a dignified and peaceful man ner is nothing to celebrate. Judge Hogan rejected the law, saying it violated the h!th Amendment right to equal pratm lion of the laws Terminally ill patients, he said, would be denied the same protection afforded to all other Oregonians. IK mg people would not !«• pro tot ted from being assisted in an act of self-destruction. This argument is based on an all-too-frequent assump tion that any person should or i an be prottK ted from him or herself that the slate needs to guide its (iti /oils in issues regarding the individual buds While the state has a legitimate inter es! jn protecting the people from the negligent malice and stupidity of others, to apply that standard to pro dieting dying people from themselves is. at best. mis guided. All people should have the right to do with their bodies whales er the\ choose as long as that action does not harm the body or property of another Oppo nents of tiic measure say that terminally ill patients are not in a stable state of mind to make a reasonable judgment about their lives Yet, who but the dving has a better perspective on life ' If the assisted suicide law is eventually approved, no one will he required to par ticipate in the patient’s sui i ide ,(gainst bis or her wish es i’he only pis»ple making a life end-death de< ision for an adult will be both the actor .will rei esser of tlmt dei ision. Under reasonable restrictions, bow and when Oregonians i house to die should he none of the state’s business Legislature gives public transport the green light ■ OUR OPINION: I M md«. light rail is both positive and progressive I'lm Oregon l-egislalure surprised many politic al t yni< s last week !>\ passing tin* light rail funding pat kagu in tin* l tth hour of tin* ses sum At its (mart, tin* bill deposits $375 million into stall* and local transportation coffers and allots tin* same amount to tin* expansion of Portland's light rail system, rhe expansion ol light rail into the slightly sprawling suburbia surrounding the state's largest tits- is faith savvy and forward thinking. While l.ugeneans spend countless hours debating whether growth is good and what can be done to deter/eiuourage it. Portland offic ials have at copied the inevitable. Growth happens, and uur big sister is propar ing for her future, Sandwk hod between please-mnve-here Seattle anti ploase-don't-stay Eugene, Portland has adopt ed a practical approac h to the growth conundrum By n*( ognizing that they < annul control who ami how mam people enter (or leave) tin? city, Portlanders have directed their attention It) making sure that their home remains dean, safe and as free of two-hour traffic jams and fat torv closings as pos sible While this rational response may not sell a! a Eugene City Council meet ing. it just goes to show what we can learn from an older sibling Oregon Oarfy l mnrAkJ it pubfcthed darfy Monday though f fday du**^ *.:hooi y#ar 1 ofesrtfty and TVt^y dur**g fat mmmer t»y t?v* Oregon Di^ ( n<*«ci Putaicsfcng Co t'v. *t the ifriive-v’y o>l Ot»gi>n, 1 *#g»n«. 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Free dom, maybe Too many rules Or maybe they felt they could no longer hear their voices They had each journeyed around the world, in and out of the military, in and out of poverty, in and out of favor with the man they left behind Little by little, fences were mended through tune mid •idem-v So much was never said Bygones went bygones After years of Christmases missed for whatever reason, and birthday songs sung In speaker phone, they arrived at one place at one time for one reason. As they sat on the de< k of o new home, holding nothing of Stem Smith tli(*ir past, tin' three c hi 1 drwn, now in their lute ZQs and early '30s, laughed with each other, telling old stories, rebuilding memories Their father, a stately. sice M . ex-military man, juseu ana leaseti. wmimirng thorn of who tho\ wore ami are f to hail begun to dato again, a lovely woman who had been a friend of the family for nearly two decades, and whose husband had been killed a few years before As the mist of an Oregon summer liegan to drizzle down on the redwood table, the laughter stopped One by one they turned toward their father and said, for the first time, what was in their hearts "It's so wonderful to see you happy, l ather “You deserve to he happy. Daddy,” "1 support you in whatever derision you make. Dad.” The father sat silently and listened to the adult voir os of his children. Not one was angry that he had started n relationship so soon after their mother’s death. Not one blamed him. challenged him. resented him As he struggled to speak, his oldest son stopped him. "Dad. 1 know 1 didn't turn out to be the son you always wanted I haven't done things your way or followed your path But 1 just want you to know that you have always been my hero, my only hero ' The rain began to fall, gath ering in small puddles on the table, dripping on to the dis k 1 he father wiped ins eves nentna ms gout-trained bifo cals .is his i hildren turned their soft smiles toward him. “I will be." he said, "forever grateful to you kids and the lose you have shown me ! mas not have always agreed with the way you've lived your lives, but I have never stopped los ing you." As their tears mixed with the rain on their cheeks, a Jam ils moved together, toward their father, toward their cen ter Somehow, out of the ashes of everything they had lost, they had come to this place and had found, at once, the origin and object of their search. They had, at last, found each other They had come home. Sean Smith is tin associatr t-Ji tar for tin■ Emerald LETTERS Pro-pooling Oregon needs exjmnded mass transit. ospei inlly along the Interstate-5 corridor connecting Eugene. Corvallis, Albany. Salem and Portland. Mass tran sit saves individual costs in gasoline, car maintenance, insurance and parking. It reduces traffic congestion and helps tin- Earth's environment (air quality) breathe, while gn ing commuters ease. Northbound shuttle buses am tieginmng but there are current ly no van pools, buses or trains 1 tan locate heading south This, of course, does not include the state's shuttle buses from Portland to Salem. For example, one can take a van pool from Salem to Portland State University liut not to the University of Oregon. Mass transit linking cities along 1-5 could really make a difference for businesses in those cities K.C. Primbs Journalism
