Oppose assisted suicide bill

Over 10 years ago, the state of Oregon adopted the first law in the United States legalizing physician-assisted suicide. No other state has passed a similar law, despite attempts by supporters of so-called "death with dignity" proposals.

	Editor's View Mary C. Uhler

But with more aging baby boomers dealing with fatal diseases, a Catholic News Service article reported that there will be pressure to pass more assisted suicide laws in other states.

Reasons for concern

Dr. Leon Kass, former chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics and now a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, predicted at a forum last fall that the high number of Americans without health insurance also makes the risk of physician-assisted suicide more worrisome.

	Related article: • Catholic Conference opposes assisted suicide bill

Dr. Kass recalled a radio debate about an assisted-suicide law. The high cost of medical care and its burden on the sick and their families came up again and again.

There is a very real fear - especially among the disabled - that disabled and terminally ill persons will have a "duty" to die if assisted suicide laws are passed.

Wisconsin law proposed

In Wisconsin, a proposal to legalize assisted suicide has been authored by Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison) and Representative Frank Boyle (D-Superior). Senate Bill 151 would permit certain individuals to make written requests for medication for the purpose of ending their lives. It would legalize assisted suicide for people over age 18 who have a terminal disease. A physician who refuses to participate in an assisted suicide could be charged with "unprofessional conduct."

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference, Wisconsin Right to Life, and Pro-Life Wisconsin all oppose legalizing assisted suicide in our state."

We must minister compassionately to those who suffer from pain and those who fear death," said Susan Armacost of Wisconsin Right to Life. "Doctors should heal, not kill. We must maintain the healing tradition of medicine."

Wisconsin Right to Life and Christian Life Resources founded the Nightingale Alliance and maintain a Web site devoted to the issues of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Go to www.NightingaleAlliance.org for more information.

Why we should oppose assisted suicide

There are many reasons to oppose assisted suicide. Patients can be misdiagnosed and could make an irreversible decision to die based on the wrong information. A vulnerable patient may feel there are no other alternatives if his or her doctor recommends death. Patients suffering from depression or pain may not know that their quality of life can be improved with proper treatment.

Above all, as Catholics we believe that God is the author of life. From conception to natural death, all life is precious. We must protect life at every stage. Those who are terminally ill need our support, our compassion, and our prayers as they prepare for death and life everlasting.

Please contact your state legislators urging them to oppose the Risser/Boyle proposal to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Go to www.legis.state.wi.us/waml for information on how to contact your legislators.

Mailbag

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Need to dig deeper
to find real motives

To the editor:

The motives which fuel individual people and/or organizations can often remain quite hidden. A little digging, however, often will reveal them.

Maggie Carrao (Mailbag, December 20, 2007) asserts that Planned Parenthood can in no way be compared to Hitler. On the contrary, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, would appear to have much in common with Hitler.

Sanger spoke of "sterilizing those she designated as 'unfit,' a plan she said would be the 'salvation of American civilization'" (Citizens Magazine January 20, 1992). Such a statement is alarmingly similar to Hitler's thoughts on Jewish extermination and was made long before Hitler rose to power.

The primary goal of Planned Parenthood is certainly not to alleviate the neglect and abuse of unwanted children. This is the job of orphanages or other charitable organizations.

Rather, Planned Parenthood takes the human person and distorts it into a sexually obsessed animal. It is an organization that sells sex in its most perverted forms.

I would argue that one source of the large amount of corruption in modern society is the deformation of mankind brought about by Planned Parenthood.

The Catholic bishops of Colorado put it succinctly, saying that "Planned Parenthood calls itself pro-child, pro-woman, and pro-family. Yet it is an organization based on falsehoods about the human person, the family, and community life."

Alex Wolf, seminarian studying
for Diocese of Madison, Denver, Colo.

Unused gift cards could help unwed mothers

To the editor:

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal that stated statistics from the National Retail Federation that predicted that $26 billion in gift cards would be purchased during the Christmas season by U.S. consumers.

I have received gift cards in recent years for which I have had no use. Last Christmas I received a $50 gift card for a retail chain store whose business practices I do not necessarily like.

Thinking that this gift card would be useless to me, I donated it to a local home for unwed mothers. I was told by an appreciative staff member it would go a long way to help a young mother who has made the courageous decision to have her baby in the abortion-saturated culture in which we live. Afterwards, I donated two other gift cards that were hanging around from past years, which were also put to good use.

Sometimes these "useless" gift cards go lost or unused. I would like to encourage your readers to consider donating such gift cards that they will not use to a local home for unwed mothers. Such gift cards can make the difference for a brave young mother who has courageously chosen life and has a rocky road ahead of her.

John Nguyen, Niantic, Conn.