From: eleusyan@speedchoice.com
Date: Mon Apr 05 1999 - 04:22:01 MDT
On Sun, 4 Apr 1999 08:53:03 -0500, you asked that I clarify my
statements:
>A. Eleusyan wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>> Above all, consult with Scientologists: they're used to dealing with
>> legal harrassment concerning their health care choices. There might be
>> some states that might not prove as inimical to the concept on the
>> USA.
>
>1. Could you elaborate a bit? What health choices are scientologists
>making that lead to legal hassles?
I seem to have made a dire mistake. I think it's Christian Scientists,
rather than Scientologists, who have grappled with the courts several
times in order to preserve their health care choices (refusing certain
medical procedures) for their own children. Recent Scientology issues
in Germany, as they vaguely reached me through the news, might have
led me to this possible misunderstanding.
I'm not sure whether Jehovah Witnesses have found themselves in a
similar situation concerning blood transfusions for children, which
people of the JW persuassion reject.
I'm fully aware that health care choices don't amount to the same as
euthanasia in the eyes of the court. However, defenses and arguments
may have been raised during these proceedings which might prove useful
in a legal strategy defending euthanasia.
I'm also fully aware that Dr. Kevorkian is finding himself up the
creek without a paddle on this very same issue.
>2. What does your second sentence mean? Were you suggesting that there may
>be some American states which are receptive to euthanasia? Please clarify.
I don't think every single state has actually ruled against euthanasia
yet. Therefore, there's the possibility that one of those states might
not rule against euthanasia on a test case. The problem is that the
federal government might come up with legislation that'd override
state laws and force state courts to revert or issue adverse rulings
in following cases.
In my view, the idea of a vessel or haven where a person may resort to
a merciful abridgement of bodily waste and suffering (euthanasia), and
also acquire some measure of hope for defeating and perhaps even
reversing the ravages of disease in the future (cryogenics), is a
notion worth following. Despite the enormous amount of research and
effort this endeavor might demand, I still think it's worth pursuing.
A. Eleusyan
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