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                        OF NOTE...
                        News to Use

Vol. II, Issue 42                                March 1, 1993
Earl Appleby, Jr., Editor                        CURE, Ltd.

                        Against the Odds

"My father was joined in the silent brotherhood of those in coma with Nancy
Beth Cruzan. Sharing my sorrow at the impending starvation, I told a
reporter that Dad had given us far more love than we could ever give him.
'How did he give you that love?' she asked. 'Simply by living,' I replied.
'Every day of my father's life in coma, his life against the odds, was a
selfless gift of love.'" (Celebrating Life in Hard Times, Earl Appleby,
Jr., Life Matters, Winter 1992)

"Because the emergency room physician had told me that he would 'try to
keep' my Dad alive until all of us arrived, I expected to find my Dad
comatose. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found that was not the case.
He lay in an elevated hospital bed with his eyes closed, and I grasped his
hand saying , 'Hi, Dad, it;s Judy.' Dad responded immediately by squeezing
my hand." (He Was My Dad, Judy Howard, Life Matters, Winter 1992)

"I just don't understand what it is with God. I had another beautiful baby
girl, Molly, who at first seemed perfect. Then when she was eight weeks old
she had several seizures and after extensive testing the doctors told us
she had an abnormality of the white matter of the brain. So there I was
getting detoured again, back on the road less traveled, struggling through
the underbrush. And this time the going was a lot harder. (The Road Less
Traveled, Mary McCool, Life Matters, Winter 1992)

                        ABLE Aids

With a flick of an eye, 24-year-old Bill Duncan, of Texas, quadriplegic
since an auto accident 9 years ago, can turn a light switch or a TV on and
off. Soon Mr. Duncan, who is attending college, may be able to transmit his
thoughts through eye movements with the aid of his new Eyegaze Computer.
Arthur Wold, 30, had been labeled "severely mentally retarded" from age 4.
Prior to his introduction to the computer, he said few words. Asked by his
mother if he preferred being called Arthur or Art, Mr. Wold replied via his
laptop, "I don't care. Just don't call me stupid." (Computers Open Doors
for Disabled, CRTI Report, Winter 1992-93)

"'The problem is that you can't pin anyone down,' adds her husband, Frank,
his eyes betraying his anger at the personal care attendants the Levines
believe are robbing them blind. 'The worst part of this problem is when
you're handicapped and they have total advantage over you,' the retired
industrial manager continues." (Taking Advantage, Life Matters, Winter 92)


                        Care Less

A 1981 grand jury investigation revealed a death-selection system in a
Queens, New York hospital in which purple dots were affixed to the charts
of patients who were not to be resuscitated. The dot was removed after the
patient's demise. (DaNgeR--DNR!!!, Earl Appleby, Jr., Life Matters, Winter
1992)

"The dimensions of cost-containment are best measured in the coffins of its
victims. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and kindred
insurance-driven schemes punish physicians who practice 'aggressive'
medicine, preferring that physicians enhance profits by surrendering
patients to death. Patients are dumped from profit-making hospitals to
understaffed public hospitals, while Medicare DRGs (diagnostic-related
groups) dump the critically ill on the street." (Euthanasia: Who Dies? Who
Decides?, Earl Appleby, Jr., Life Matters, Winter 1992)

                        Courting Disaster

"A major defense presented by the Nazi physicians on trial at Nuremberg was
that they were acting under official orders of a superior govern authority.
The court rejected this claim, and many of the defendants were found guilty
and sentenced to prison or death in 1947. The principle was clearly
established that the order of a government official could not be used to
justify murder." (Avoiding the Next Nuremberg, John Nestor, MD, Life
Matters, Winter 1992)

"In the light of the aging of our population and the presence of rising
medical costs, the road ahead is clear and all downhill. The fiction of
patient consent will become an automatic--and increasingly
irrebuttable--presumption in cases with little prognosis for recovery. The
distinction between active and passive means will yield so that the awkward
technique of starvation will give way to the painless injection, which is
cost-effective and psychologically easier for the killers." (Hard Cases,
Easy Victims, Bad Laws, Prof. Charles Rice, JD, Life Matters, Winter 1992)

                        Family Affair

"This bill affirms family life; it demonstrates a respect for basic human
dignity." --Bishop John Ricard, chairman, US Catholic Conference Committee
on Domestic Policy, on the Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires
businesses with more than 50 employees to grant up to 12 weeks unpaid leave
to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or for family sickness.
During the leave, the employer must guarantee the worker's job and provide
health insurance. (Bishop Praises Family Leave Legislation, NCR, 2/21/93)

                        Food for Thought

According to Fr. Peter Klink, director of the National Office of Jesuit
Social Ministries, 5.5 million American children regularly go hungry.
Another 6 million live on the brink of hunger. (Hunger, Peter Feuerherd,
National Catholic Register, 2/21/93)

                        Heart Stoppers

"If loose lips sink ships, loose words end lives. As with all generalities,
the definition of 'benefit' depends on who is doing the defining. Marvin
Kohl, for example, claims 'mercy killing' is synonymous with 'beneficent
euthanasia' since 'both refer to the inducement of a relatively painless
and quick death, the intention and actual consequences of which are THE
KINDEST POSSIBLE TREATMENT of an unfortunate individual.'" (original
emphasis) (Before You Sign...On the Dotted Line, Paul Byrne, MD, Life
Matters, Winter 1992)

"The pace of euthanasia's advance in the US is such that one can
confidently predict that, unless arrested now, deliberate killing of
patients by the tens of thousands will come within 10 years. The early
victims will continue to be the expensive to care for-- 'hopeless' at the
'edges of life,' who have few or no advocates. It will be so rational that,
like the frog in increasingly hot water, no change will be perceived until
it is too late." (Euthanasia, Joseph Stanton, MD, CRTI Report, Winter
1992-93)

On Feb. 1, medical staff at Edwin Shaw Hospital in Lakemore, Ohio removed
food and water from 15 year-old Carla Myers, who received brain injuries
when a drunk driver rammed the rented limousine carrying her and her
friends to the Garfield High homecoming dance. They also banned visits by
all, including Carla's cousin, Lisa, who wanted her to live. "The body may
go through contortions, movements that to an observer look like agony...I
think the parents should limit their visits to infrequently now, if at
all." --Robert White, MD, medical ethicist. CURE Comment: Sure, doc, why
should Mom and Dad see the hell they've inflicted on their own daughter
because of her disability. (Euthanasia Advances in Ohio, with Death of
Teenage Girl, Paulette Likoudis, The Wanderer, 2/18/93)

Vatican Radio announces that the Dutch bishops oppose a bill passed by the
Dutch parliament under which doctors following state guidelines will not be
punished for euthanasia, which remains a "crime." (Dutch Bishops Oppose
Doctor-Assisted Suicides, National Catholic Register, 2/21/93)

                        Mental Health

"In 1991 alone, 148 persons died in Texas state institutions . A
recent ruling of the Texas Mental Health and Mental Retardation
Services shields the alleged investigation of their deaths from
public scrutiny. I condemn the callous neglect and abandonment
that leads to such a callous loss of human life. As a woman who
has...disabilities..., I am gravely concerned about social
attitudes towards persons deemed less than fully "human,"
including persons with mental health problems, the poor, and the
homeless. A community that weighs human lives on the butcher's
scale of eugenics will inevitably discount the value of those
whose economic utility and viability are called into question.
(Dependency...Crime Against Society, Jo Ann Koepke, Life Matters,
Winter 1992)

"Men must learn to live in community," to animate and sustain intimate
relationships. "We need to be of service and make a gift of ourselves to
God. Most of us, though, have lost the mechanism to discover this need. Our
egos are in the way and being of service feels like a burden." --Robert
Herstek, Los Angeles therapist. (Being of Service, Joop Koopman, NCR, 2/21/93)

                        School Daze

"Recently I was invited to speak at a public high school about my life as a
physically challenged man. But I was warned not to mention God in my talk,
for fear that the teacher would be fired. As I could not omit the facts
about the power of God in my life, I refused the invitation." (Something Is
Rotten, William Zalot, The Rescuer, 1-2/93)

                        Under the Dome

"Nurses and other health care workers will now not have to risk job loss or
other discrimination if they refuse to participate in the withdrawal or
withholding of life-sustaining treatment, including nutrition and hydration
from patients. The move down the slippery slope toward euthanasia perhaps
now will be slowed somewhat by the refusal of ethical health care workers
to participate." --Rep. David Klarich (R-Manchester) on a conscience clause
enacted by the state legislature. CURE Comment: Don't count on it. The mass
in mass murder refers to the number of victims not the number of killers.
(Conscience Rights Safeguards Pass in Missouri, Nancy Valko, RN, CRTI
Report, Winter 1992-93)

On December 3, after toying with a number of bills, pro and anti, the
Michigan legislature in another indecisive move, approved a temporary ban
making assisted suicide a felony punishable by up to 4 years in prison.
Public Act 270, which goes into effect April 1, establishes a commission to
make recommendations at the end of 15 months. Six months later the ban will
go out of effect unless the legislature votes to make it permanent. ("Dr.
Death" Strikes Again and Again and Again and Again and Michigan Can't Quite
Decide What to Do About Him, CRTI Report, Winter 1992-93)

Under Virginia's Health Care Decisions Act, "the extermination of severely
handicapped individuals, including wards of the state, can be carried out
by the same doctors, guardians, and committees charged with protecting
them. The bill specifically says it is applicable to patients in
psychiatric and mental retardation facilities who are incapable of making
their wishes known and who have no 'reasonable expectation of recovery.'
That sweeping category could encompass a myriad of conditions brought on by
disease, head trauma, stroke, or age." (Euthanasia Blitzkrieg Storms States
and Courts, Linda Everett, Life Matters, Winter 1992)

                        Word of Life

"We must not edit God, much less rewrite Him. As the inspired writer of
Proverbs instructs us, we must 'write the commandments in our heart' and
live them faithfully. The Sixth commandment does not command, 'Thou shalt
not murder UNLESS you call it an act of mercy.' Nor does it charge, 'Thou
shalt not commit murder EXCEPT to control the cost of healthcare, balance
the budget, mitigate malpractice damages, or reduce the surplus
population." (Confronting Euthanasia Part I: "Thou Shalt Not Murder!" Denny
Hartford, Life Matters, Winter 1992)

In 1981, Clarence Herbert was starved and dehydrated to death by his
doctors. The prosecutor advised me that for some acts the foreseeable
results are so evident the motive is inherent in the deed, e.g.,
deliberately starving someone to death. The judge disagreed, dismissing the
charges without a trial. "The bishops disagree as well, citing as one sorry
excuse for starvation, 'to relieve the patient of a particular procedure
that was of limited usefulness to the patient.' Now I must confess that I
thought that preserving life was quite 'useful,' but admittedly I did not
complete my seminary theology courses." (Moral and Pastoral Reflections:
Pattern of Betrayal, Earl Appleby, Jr., Life Matters, Winter 1992)

                        Telling Headlines

California's "Aid-in-Dying" Initiative (CRTI Report, W 92-93)
Congress Asked to Mind Ethics in Research (NCR, 2/21)
GOP Leaders Want Shift on Abortion (NCR, 2/21)
Pro-Death Pioneer Commits Suicide (CRTI Report, W 92-93)

                        Wish We'd Said That...

    There are some crimes, which, because they are crimes
    against humanity, implicate us all; and we all are
    sometimes morally responsible for what we fail to
    prevent as well as for what we do. (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks)

                         ...Glad We Didn't

    In the absence of trustworthy evidence, or indeed any
    evidence at all, that the patient would have declined
    the treament, life-sustaining treament may still be
    withheld or withdrawn from a formerly competent person.
    (New Jersey Supreme Court)

...For further information, contact CURE, 812 Stephen Street, Berkeley
Springs, West Virginia 254511 (304-258-LIFE/5433).