Susan Jacoby: On the avoidance of death in life

From a secularist point of view, the only moral issue is an individual's right to determine, insofar as that is possible, the conditions of his or her own dying and death. For many of us, that won't be possible because we will not be mentally competent at the end--and that's why it is so important to make our wishes known and delegate decision-making power to a trusted relative or friend. The reason why this issue has become another attack point for the religious right is not, as conservatives contend, fear of government control. It is, rather, the belief that only God has the power of life and death. That's one reason why the right regards assisted suicide with horror. There is also a profoundly conservative religious belief that suffering has some sort of intrinsic exemplary value. I reject that belief (as do many liberal religious believers). Washington Post