Death-with-d i gn ity ruling
frees individual liberties
■ OUR OP1NIOM: An people
should be able to choose
how and when they che
Civil libertarians Untied
major victorias last week
The «th U S. Circuit Court
of Appeal* overturned a
Washington state law that
banned doctor-assisted sui
cide, and ihe infamous Dr
Jack Kevorkian was found
no!-guilty of violating
Michigan's law against the
same thing.
Finally, some common
sense in the judicial system
Although America prides
itself on individual freedom
and the right to pursue hap
piness. it frenueiitly erects
unnecessary harriers to indi
vidual choice. The notion
that suicide ui any form is
illegal is ridiculous If the
person attempting suicide is
successful, whom does the
law punish? If the person
fails his or her shot at end
ing it all, being fined or
imprisoned hardly seem* a
positive way to beat the
blues.
The terminally ill. or any
one else for that matter,
should be allowed to deter
mine how and when to die.
Suit ide affect* only the pot
son committing il, and. as
such, should not and cannot
be controlled by a governing
body,
(>riainly. we, a* a cul
ture. believe in the sanctity
of life. And yes. the family
and friend* who are left
behind by the self-killing
[►arson suffer the pain of
that loss. But in the end. the
law should not prevent any
person from determining the
courso of his or her physical
existence
Throughout the history of
this country, we seem to
have Increasingly plat ed the
government in a parental
role We want our (mistical
leaders to also be our moral
teai her*, guidance coun
selors and babysitters We
dump our problems and our
accountability on the steps
of the Capitol and ask for
solutions
And then we complain
about big government
Hinmrn
But we are the leaders
We dec ide how we want to
live our lives, and now we
can decide how want to end
them Determining the qual
ity of life is an individual
choice and cannot be estab
lished by any group. One
person may rather suffer
than face tne unknown,
while other* may want to
"go gentle into that good
night."
Some opponents of doe
tor assisted suicide argue
that killing oneself is anti
thetical to religious teach
ings. and is. therefore,
immoral However, not
everyone has the same reli
gious beliefs.
Some doctors oppose
assisted suic ide because it
violates their oath to pre
serve life at any exist Per
hap# it'a time to re-examine
the Hippocratic. oath It's
more logical that doctors
should be morally bound to
prevent or reduce suffering
at any cost Ending the life
of a terminally ill patient
who is in chronic pain and
no longer wants to live is a
morally correct act.
In either c ase, laws
agatusl suicide put the
needs of the survivors and
soc iety’s conscience ahead
of the needs of the individ
ual. Not only are these laws
unenforceable, but they are
also unconstitutional The
courts made the right dec i
sion last week. Even in
death, we should he the cap
tains of our own ships
Emerald |
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! Confrontation will save environment
Whai doe* il mean to live with wild
things, in know they ar* out there?
“There are some who can live with
out wild thing*, and some who can
not * Atdo taopold wrote that
“At night the breeca that whispers over us has
also. Just bafant. whispered over the backs of
lug eyed deer, touc hed elk in coats the color of
c opper pennies, ruffled the feather* of hawk and
owl. and whuffed the fur of bobcat and cougar
and the wild wolverine “
I wrote that.
“When I bear an elk bugle, there comet a pri
mordial tingle along my spina, and my attention
is riveted to that ancient compelling call Feu
that instant It is very dear to me what is truly
important Somehow, there is an announce
ment that titer* is wholeness and wildness left
and — few that instant and in that place — all
seem* right with the world '
Forest Service Chief fuck Ward Thomas wrote
that
Why support law* that protec t the environ
| mam? Baatuae we need to know that wildness
it out there We want to know that wild crea
tures thrive in wiki place*
U.S Department of lustier* attorney Gerald
Torres sped* Saturday at the University** annu
al Flnvironmental taw Conferwnc * l(« said ibis
ulna in wildness >» what set* America apart from
other countries ~Civibration,' he said, "is an
urban idea — but one that entails an idea of pro
tes ting Wild spac es,*
Pat Pwentaau know* about protecting wild
spaces, he represented the U.S Fish a Wildlife
Servic e al the God Squid hearings and now
leac he* at Vermont Uw School Hi* conference
workshop outlined a response to Congress'
"Contract With America *
He said we must first at all confront the lie
Environmental law is not running roughshod
over ih» little guy Wo must confront the
rhetoric and photo ops used by politicians
whose goal is the gutting of environmental laws
Parentnau said we must also confront the
cart* Though the Northwest has not been trans
formed into the Appalachia predicted by the
timber industry, many environmentalists prefer
to shut their eyes to areas where habitat protec
tion ha* caused economic hardship
"Flnvironmentalists who ignore the cost of
protection." Parenteau said, “completely miss
the opportunity to look at the coats of not pro
tecting the environment."
We must also confront the change
Mary Wood. Professor of Uw al the University,
spoke of "Environmentalism For A New Mil ten
nium " She points out that corporate representa
tives function now as de facto congressional
»<*H. influenc ing members of Congress and even
drafting legislation (such as tha Salvage Rider)
But in confronting the realities of environ
mental issues today, we must also confront the
divisions Poll results indicating that 70 percent
of Americans support environmental protection
i* what stalled the "Contract with America";
what may stall the environmental movement,
however, is the divisiveness, the blaming and
bad-mouthing and looking for the enemy.
If* the corporation*; if* big
busine**; if* corporate greed
and plunder; it'* politician*
who gut environmental law*;
if* agencies that allow loggers
to rape and scab our forests.
If* thi* or that enemy If* my
ancient old growth preserve
and your fed).
This land is your land, this
land is my land: we're all stuck
nere nil w« die
When we feel the urge to heap public acorn
upon the corporation*, we muit remember that
many of tbone who support environmental pro
tection week for and own share* in corporations.
When we verbally abuse the agendas that man
age our public land* we must remember that
people who support environmental protection
wont for those agencies
Ten years ago Jack Ward Thomas spoke of
tlu»*» employees, and cautioned that the public
needed to take an active role in conserving those
wild place*
"They are good people." he said "But they
can accomplish only what the political and
financial situation of the moment allows They
can't do the job with inadequate and dm lining
resources and a silent public that stands back
and quietly watches the struggle “
The public is no longer quietly watching, but
some are too loud.
Our nastiness toward perceived enemies does
nothing to enhance the image of the environ
mental movement. Infighting among the envi
ronmental community (more than a little of
which was evident during the conference) does
nothing to attract marginal supporter*.
We talk positive activism, yet we don't hesi
tate to publicly shred ihe people who could be
— should be — part of the broad-hased support
for environmental protection The next time
you're tempted to say "corporate greed." remem
her what Parantmtu said .Saturday;
If all corporation* are bad. then we're
doomed " And remember that without corpora
Hon* we would have no public TV. no Sierra
Club, no Nature Conservancy — and without
them we'd have far fewer wild c reatures out
there in wild place*.
kelty Andenson is a senior motoring in journal
ism and is a columnist for the Emerald. Email
ooonettorvgon.uoregon.edu
■