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- It's the economy, stupid!
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"In the final analysis, economics, not the quest for broadened individual liberties or increased autonomy, will drive assisted suicide to the plateau of acceptable practice." Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphrey, writing (with Mary Clement) in the 1998 book "Freedom to Die: People, Politics, and the Right-to-Die Movement" (St. Martin's Press).
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- The wrong answer
- "Why do we, as a nation, not allow these people to die, if they have no alternative to a nursing-home existence and this is what they want? Their lives would conclude with dignity and self-respect, and one measure of cost containment would be in place." More skewed analysis from Humphrey and Clement (see item above).
"Surveys have consistently found that most people would rather continue to live at home rather than in a nursing home," write the pair. "What has not been known until recently, however, is that the aversion to 'such a facility is so strong that a new study of seriously ill people in hospitals found that 30% of those surveyed said they would rather die than live permanently in a nursing home.'"
The idea of having control over your own care, in your own home, as a solution other than ending your life doesn't seem to occur to either of these pro-death advocates.
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