On (09 Jan 97) Rod Speed wrote to Roy Mcneill...



 RM> on the euthanasia debate. My only disagreement with ET is that

 RM> it could cheapen human life in some cases, eg: "You sick old

 RM> bastard, why don't you stop annoying us and leeching my hard

 RM> earned money away from my kids? Go kill yourself! After all,

 RM> it's legal now!" Add to that the line "Your liver is history, but

 RM> someone might live longer with your heart or kidneys, and you get

 RM> no say in that. Do something useful for once - bugger off and die."



 RS> Trouble with this line of argument is that you can say precisely the

 RS> same thing about not allowing people to stay in hospital as long as

 RS> they feel like, or legalising suicide too. Anything can be abused.



 RS> Including allowing relos to have some say on treatment, particularly

 RS> with the very elderly who are a bit dotty. There is always a risk that

 RS> they will say 'dont tell them about the cancer, surgery at this very

 RS> advanced age is pointless, just treat the symptoms, its all for the best'



 RS> It can ALSO be the perfectly sensible thing to do rather than

 RS> subject someone who has a pretty poor lifestyle to having it

 RS> buggered up even more comprehensively by running them into hospital

 RS> for major surgery which wont achieve much at all lifestyle wise.



Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me here? It's a bit hard to

tell. Well written, btw; is the Alsatian on holidays?



 RM> I'm in favour of euthanasia, but I think the conditions

 RM> attached will need very careful consideration.



 RS> But the current euthanasia that deliberately flouts the law is fine ?



What law? Has anyone been prosecuted over that death?



 RS> You just cant get past the very fundamental point that

 RS> we continue to do to humans what you can and do get charged

 RS> for doing if its your dog in that particular situation.



About the only thing I can think of that I could legally do to a

human that I can't legally do to a dog is screw it.



 RS> Barking mad.







Cheers



--- PPoint 1.88