| Show MERCIFUL murdeth MURD Etl abo question Is again being agitated throughout country whether un jer any circumstances it la permissible for a doctor to hasten the death of a man who Is beyond all hope of recovery and ia suffering terrible torments certain physicians maintain that an occasion docs at times arise when it would be both merciful and humane to end agonies which death can alone terminate common sense would seem to be on the side of these doctors although sentiment 1 undoubtedly a galust them the difficulties of the position are well set forth in statements by london physicians who have taken the matter up before taking the utterances te rances of tho latter up it would be well to stale that only three american physicians have tar openly advocated the method and the balance of the fraternity have cither remained noncommittal or opposed it the opinion of the london physicians 1 expressed by one wha says that such deliberate termination of life as Is contemplated in the united stales could not escape he opprobrious term of murder although it might be softened to merciful murder doctors who were known to be in favor of such a course would very naturally be shunned by the great majority of patients people have recovered and lived for many years whose lives have been given up by doctors it would be useless to argue that such cases would never come within the scope of the proposed euthanasia few would believe it least of all those on a bed of sickness and so a new terror would be t the approach of death by the very action intended to remove the direst pains that betokened 1 sure coming of course it need hardly be said that merciful murder would under no circumstances be permitted except to a committee of doctors of the highest standing the law would have to be altered and it would be hedged in by many legal restrictions that it would be practically ineffectual except in extremely rare cases but it merciful murder be outside the bounds of legal possibility at this stage of our is it any reason why merciful lifesaving life saving should also be impossible kind to the sick brutal to the healthy 1 how the phy bician referred to already sums up our present attitude toward infected persons who spread indiscriminately the germs of fatal disease such as consumption segregation should be the law of the land and sooner or later we shall be forced by circumstances to think more of the well being of the community than of the convenience of the individual if only a scheme were drawn up on practical lines and the danger of the present state of affairs clearly demonstrated we are certain that it would receive the support of a considerable section of the count ryThe chief difficulties might gradually be surmounted and before the nation was a generation older some wise policy of segregation might actually be in operation certainly so far from making any advance in the prevention of disease by the isolation of infection we have if anything retrogressed retrogress ed the old plague methods of the red cross were in many respects brutal but haj they been accompanied by other precautions based on our present sanitary knowledge they probably would have proved very efficacious |
