Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Mercy killings, suicide: 'Social challenges' to be faced as U.S. ages

Mercy killings, suicide: 'Social challenges' to be faced as U.S. ages - latimes.com: Murder or mercy killing? One story that dominated headlines this week raised that question in a particularly dramatic fashion: An Ohio man is accused of shooting to death his ailing wife of 45 years, possibly as part of a "death pact" promise to prevent her from suffering.

In the coming years, many other Americans will be wrestling with similar questions about how, and when, to end their own lives or the life of a loved one. "This is going to become one of the great social challenges of the next 20 years," predicted Arthur Caplan, one of the nation's foremost bioethicists.

Editor: In Our Neurotic Fear of Suffering, Wesley Smith notes that back when people "actually did die in agony, there was little agitation for euthanasia."

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