Death

A lot about death in the news, of late. Yesterday, it was the execution of the elderly man in California, for murder. Today, it is the Supreme Court decision on the Oregon Assisted Suicide law.

The viewpoints in the Supreme Court were, on one side, that the existence of a controlled substances act indicates the desire of the government to control the use of certain materials so that they are not used in a way that is counter to health and safety, which is counter to the way that they are being used in Oregon; on the other, it was that the existence of the act indicates the desire to ensure that certain materials are not used in an illegal manner - to wit, drug trafficking, but not to interfere with their use in medical care. Neither side appears to address the question of whether death should be a legitimate medical concern.

I'm always fascinated by decisions such as this because they both seem to be right. You certainly do not want medicines to be used in a way that could make you sick, or kill you, as a rule. And you certainly do not want people trafficking in drugs, any more than you want people using nuclear materials to play music. (Thats a Cordwainer Smith reference, if you're curious.) For the longest time, keeping people alive was the role of medicine. The only reason why you would want to control the drugs is to be sure they're used correctly, but the goal is still health.

But now we're looking at the reality where the goal of medicine is to kill people, to put it bluntly; people who have expressed a desire to die. The Oregon law was to control that action, in order to be sure that it was done carefully and with safeguards. It wasn't to keep people healthy. It wasn't to keep drug traffickers from getting their hands on drugs. It was a third purpose, unacknowledged by either side; one which is probably anathema to many people of conservative bent.

I wish there had been more discussion on the topic, even though it would likely have ended in a red state/blue state division. (Did you hear? One poll on whether the president is a uniter or a divider came up 49% for each side.) I think its a worthwhile thing to discuss.

I am pleased with the decision. I doubt it will be the last on the topic.