nber 9,1992
er
Opinion
Monday, November 9,1992
The Battalion
Page 7
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40
Taking sides:
Is doctor-assisted suicide medical
mercy or a deadly mistake?
MATTHEW
DICKERSON
Columnist
To live or to die
is the most inti
mate and private
of decisions, bar
none. For certain
individuals to ar
rogate this deci
sion from those
desiring doctor-
assisted suicide is
to plumb the very
depths of callous
ness. For human
beings, to live or
die is a matter of
choice, a value
judgment. No
person is in a position to make this
choice for a fellow human being.
In a society in which one in five peo
ple die in connection with cigarettes,
one might expect concerns surrounding
doctor-assisted suicide to be an ethical,
moral and legal superfluity. But doc
tor-assisted suicide is not superfluous,
as the recent failure of the right-to-die
referendum in California demonstrates.
While the state may have exited our
bedroom, it yet lingers at our death bed.
Anti-suicide meddlers espouse the
imposition of their value judgments
upon other human beings, human be
ings causing no harm to anyone else.
Apparently, this is to ensure that termi
nal patients, typically dying in parox
ysms of agony, will do so to the ethical
satisfaction of anti-suicide advocates.
To bring this inhuman state of affairs
into sharp relief, consider that most
people would never allow an animal to
die in this manner. Most animal own
ers go to great lengths to ensure that
their animals die in peace, assisted by a
veterinarian if need be. A better death
is denied to humans because of the
"ethical dilemma of doctor-assisted sui
cide." It is certainly no "ethical dilem
ma" for those willing to undergo doc
tor-assisted suicide. The dilemma is en
gineered by those wishing to co-opt the
will of individuals in making decisions
that affect their own lives. If there is a
genuine dilemma, it is for those that
must live against their own will, at
tached to gurgling machines and dying
in slow-motion horror.
It comes as no surprise that those ad
vocating doctor-assisted suicide are of
ten close to those desiring it. They are
typically health care givers, spouses,
parents and children of the terminally
ill. They have looked into the tear-
streaked eyes of those facing torturous
death in a drug-induced fog, interrupt
ed only by spasms of pain for the last
days of life. They have been asked for
an easier way to die. That such cases
are not common is no argument for the
cases that do in fact occur.
That some people diagnosed as ter
minal survived, and might now claim
"regret" if they had committed suicide,
is no argument against those choosing
suicide. All human choices are open to
regret, with one important exception.
Human beings are not sacrificial beasts
dying for the satisfaction of anyone else.
Let us respect other people's decisions
that affect their life and death.
Dickerson is a sophomore
economics major
Life is the single
most precious
commodity on this
earth. So valuable
and sacred is it
that we strive to
protect, improve
and prolong it at
all levels.
No individual
in Western civi
lization is more
looked upon to
fulfill these duties
than the medical
doctor. Therefore,
no adequate justi-
TONI
GARRARD
Columnist
fication exists for allowing our physi
cians to participate in a patient's sui
cide, or active euthanasia.
Active euthanasia is the intentional
initiation of an action which hastens
death and should not be confused with
passive euthanasia, or refraining from
an action which would delay inevitable
death. 1 > <
Relying almost totally on emoticmal<-~
arguments, proponents of legalized ac
tive euthanasia fail to recognize the his
torical and necessary emphasis on the
doctor's role as healer. Doctor partici
pation in mercy killing degrades and
warps this traditional role.
From a historical perspective, the
Hippocratic Oath is acknowledged by
most to be the foundation of medical
ethics. It holds premier status among
physicians as the summary of their ethi
cal obligations. Given its continued sig
nificance in medical science today, the
injunctions of the Oath are far from dis-
missible. The section of the Hippocratic
Oath addressing pharmacology pledges
the physician not to administer any
deadly drugs.
In more current times, the American
Medical Association holds the position
that intentional termination of life is
contrary to the purpose of the medical
profession.
Those who argue for active euthana
sia submit that allowing patients to suf
fer a slow and painful death illustrates a
lack of mercy. The failure of this argu
ment lies in the medical reality that no
great number of patients undergoing
severe suffering exist who can find re
lief only in death. Modem science pro
vides many methods of pain manage
ment for virtually all suffering, termi
nally ill individuals.
One must also keep in mind that
physicians are fallible. Should a physi
cian make even one mistake with one
patient in judging that active euthanasia
is the appropriate course of action, that
mistake is fatal and irreversible. When
we already demand so much of our
physicians, it is entirely unrealistic to
expect them to determine with zero er
ror the quality of life and mental capaci
ty of someone else.
Legalization of active euthanasia
would set a dangerous precedent, and
no amount of detailed guidelines can
ensure that abuses will not occur. Prac
tically and morally, it is a dangerous
idea. Doctors should be healers, not
gods.
Garrard is a junior speech
communications major
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with someone of another culture, and
we all have to learn how to be sensi
tive to one another. I'm sorry if this
disappoints you, but this, my friend, is
reality.
Leslie Montgomery
Class of '94
Fraternity members
showed compassion
In an atmosphere of negative pub
licity towards the fraternity system,
the family of Peter Coman wishes to
personally and publicly acknowledge
the Kappa Sigma fraternity for its
tremendous support during the past
two weeks. After Peter suffered a se
vere head injury after a car crash on
Oct. 17, my parents immediately
called one of Peter's fraternity brothers
who went straight to the hospital in
order to keep my parents informed
throughout their rush here from Cali
fornia. Two additional brothers met
them at the airport, expedited a car
rental, and escorted them to Humana.
Upon arriving my parents were met
by 40 more Kappa Sigmas who kept
up a vigil until Peter stabilized. The
Kappa Sigmas in addition managed to
rent my parents a hotel room on a
home game weekend and eventually
found them a furnished apartment.
The loyalty and love I witnessed ex
pressed toward Peter by his brothers
in the fraternity is an unparalleled im
age of unity in my mind. I, my sister,
and my parents cannot thank the Kap
pa Sigmas enough for what they have
done and continue to do for our fami
ly. These men will always be in our
thoughts and prayers.
Jennifer, Heather, John
and Julie Coman
Multicultural foes
must face reality
I am an African-American female,
and I am writing in response to the let
ter submitted by John Groenewold; to
the./editorial "Going to Extremes,"
both of which were in Tuesday's edi
tion of The Battalion; and to anyone
else who has negative attitudes about
the requirement of "multicultural"
classes in the A&M curriculum. The
purpose of these courses will be to ed
ucate all of the students on how to in
teract with each other and how to be
sensitive to one another.
I understand that you do not have
the desire to learn about my culture.
You probably do not want to know
any more about me than some of my
brothers and sisters want to know
about you and your ancestors, but we
have been forced ("required") to learn
things from your point of view for
more than 12 years. I must tell you
that it is not a matter of what you
want anymore; it is a matter of reality.
The reality is that pretty soon, you will
not be the majority in America any
more. The populations of African-
Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and
other "minority" cultureb are growing
vastly.
We will be the majority, and what
you must come to realize is that one
day, one of my brothers or sisters may
very well be your child's employer,
whether you want to believe it or not.
As frightening as it may be to you, ev
erywhere you go, if it doesn't already
happen now, you will have to interact
Time for truth about
minority history
I would like to address this re
sponse to John Groenewold's letter in
the Nov. 3 issue of The Battalion and
to other Aggies who share his view
point. Maybe multicultural education
won't change your views about blacks
and the negative encounters you have
had. However, the main goal of a
multicultural class would be to pro
mote accommodation and understand
ing of races in America, not to shove
foreign culture down your throat. The
class is to be conducted so that you
can air your views as well as listen to
the views of others. This way we can
promote understanding of and respect
for all races so that we can all live to
gether.
Tm willing to bet your experiences
with blacks are few and far between. I
am black, and I resent the fact that you
could not know me, yet you feel nega
tively toward me. I also resent that I
have to prove myself worthy of your
respect first, though you don't judge
others on the same criteria.
Our educational system has done a
great job of teaching us Eurocentric
history, much of it glorified and un
true. I feel that if I have to learn about
how Christopher Columbus discov
ered a nation where civilization al
ready existed, why can't you learn
about the struggles and achievements
of minorities in our society? It's time
to learn the truth about all Americans
of all races. If you are against multi
cultural education, I guess you're
telling me my people don't deserve
their place in history and in America.
You'll be leaving A&M soon. You'll
be prepared for the technology of the
21st century, but how will you be able
to live in a 21stk:entury that will no
longer be dominated by whites?
Hubby Trammel
10 Class of'95
the backside of all good Aggies, and
should be discharged like fecal matter
into the sewer. Didn't your mother
teach you any better?
In the hopes that the calculator can
be found, I am including its serial
number: 3140 SO 1290, model
HP48SX. If you know someone who
has recently obtained a calculator of
this sort, please inspect it. This person
is not one of us.
Rochelle Beall
Class of'94
Just what is it about
the school in Austin?
Somebody explain to me: What is
wrong with going to school in Austin?
Stefano Alberti
Graduate student
So much for Aggie
code of honor
I am writing to comment on the re
cent theft of my HP48SX calculator
from the Engineering 109 lab in the
Civil Engineering/TTI Building. After
spending a long evening in the com
puter lab, I went home, leaving my
calculator behind. As luck would
have it, a true Aggie found the calcula
tor and turned it in to the lost and
found at the area help desk.
Later, I called on the off chance that
it might have been turned in. I was
elated to hear that it was, and that I
could pick it up in the lab. The stu
dent worker at the help desk assured
me that he would put it in a safe place.
Thank you both for being so honest
and kind.
The next day I went to the lab to re
trieve the calculator only to find that it
had been stolen. This is bad bull! The
person who did this is not observing
the Aggie Code of Honor, probably
does not know what it is, and needs to
withdraw from A&M and enroll at t.u.
You are a common thief, a parasite on
Racism harsh word
to use without proof
The word "racism" has become
such a common buzzword today. In
response to the Mr. Arias' letter accus
ing the College Station police officers
of being racist in the arrest of four His
panic individuals, I have this point to
make.
Arias, what justification do you
have to label someone a racist without
knowing the whole story and all the
facts, especially at a time when being
called a racist has such far-reaching
consequences? You claim the Hispan
ic individuals were unduly arrested,
but you don't know what the white
man and the Hispanic man were at
odds about. You also don't know the
charge brought against the Hispanic
man and his companions. These types
of observations should bring certain
questions to mind, but no accusations
should be made beforehand.
I'm not saying racism doesn't exist
or that it's not a problem, but it really
bothers me when people automatically
shout racism and discrimination when
a justifiable outcome doesn't fall for a
particular group. These instances tend
to dilute the cases where racism and
discrimination really do exist.
While I agree that the Hispanic in
dividuals may have been unjustly ar
rested, I want to point out that one
should not be so quick to jump to con
clusions and blindly blame everything
on racism when you don't know all
the facts.
CoyKouba
Class of'92
Letter condemned
its own authors
To quote Zeke Fez and Owen Wat
son's letter in Wednesday's Mail Call
"If you find any of these behaviors
(bestiality, necrophilia and pedophilia)
unacceptable yet accept homosexuali
ty and/or heterosexuality, then you
are a bigoted, sexist pig."
I assume that Fez and Watson find
sexual love for cows, corpses and chil
dren unacceptable yet you accept het
erosexuality. You are, by your own
"logical" argument, bigoted, (hetero-)
sexist pigs. I can only agree.
Nancy Tubbs
Class of'93