A well-deserved death

Well, suffice it to say Mariel and I disagree on assisted suicide. I, for one, am glad the bill failed, again. (Any chance that Levine and Berg will be willing to accept death for their legislation? Nah, expect them to revive it again next year.)

Although the stats from Oregon are in dispute -- they depend on self-reporting -- Mariel is right that the disagreement is primarily philosophical. The way I see it, If the law is going to try to prevent this guy from killing himself, I don't see why it should try to assist others who want to kill themselves just because they happen to be terminally ill (not even necessarily in pain, just terminal). As I wrote in a column on the subject a month ago:

Assisted-suicide supporters insinuate that dignity is not inherent in the human condition, but contingent upon one's abilities and the value society puts on them. Stick around too long -- become too weak, too feeble -- and you're undignified. Unlike other would-be suicides, your tragically low sense of self-worth is justified. (No wonder disability-rights groups also oppose this bill.)

Good riddance to a bad idea.