Offering Wrong Help to the Dying
People like Irene Shannon (“Her Life’s Crusade: To Help People Die With Dignity,†Dec. 18) are misinformed in a subtle and dangerous way.
Her final solution for the elderly who live alone and suffer from physical disabilities is to give them a copy of “Final Exit†and help them commit suicide. This can never be accepted as a compassionate response in a civilized society. These people need friendship, not a suicide manual.
In regards to all people diagnosed with a terminal illness, the answer is not assisted suicide but hospice [care]. A hospice uses the skills of specially trained physicians, nurses, social workers and spiritual counselors to provide palliative care and special pain control to the dying. A hospice is not a “special support group†but is open to any and all terminal patients. It is the humane, compassionate way to treat the dying.
JOE BELTRAN
El Toro
