Editor,
This is in response to Carolyn Johnson's comments about assisted suicide. The Final Exit Network does not actually "assist" anyone with suicide, but instead gives advice to people with terminal disease and no real hope of better health or reduced pain. There is not even any guarantee that people who consult the group will follow through with an attempt.
Johnson's claim that she is more concerned for the souls of these patients than the pain they might endure on earth is irresponsible. She refuses to acknowledge that for some people, a life of chronic and unendurable pain is not livable, and that others may not be as tightly bound by religious conviction as she is. Her references to the Bible are out of context, as none of the quotes she cites refer to suicide.
But most of all, Johnson is ignoring the fundamental right of every human being to live and die with dignity. Anyone of sound mind has responsibility for his own life and death, and he should be allowed to make decisions free of judgmental and irrelevant commentary.
K. Hallie McCormick
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UNM student
