amilies, or that they are something more than just doctors, nurses, or hospital administrators. They are citizens and a significant part of the society around them. We should be very worried about what the institutionalization of euthanasia will do to society, in general , how will we regard murderers? (Brody 89) "The Slippery Slope". How long after acceptance of voluntary euthanasia will we hear the calls for non-voluntary euthanasia? There are thousands of comatose or demented patients sustained by little more than good nursing care. They are an enormous financial and social burden. How long will the advocates of euthanasia be arguing that we should "assist them in dying". "Costs and Benefits". Perhaps the most disturbing risk of all is posed by the growing concern over medical costs. Euthanasia is,after all, a very cheap service. The cost of a dose of barbiturates and curare and the few hours in a hospital bed that it takes them to act is minute compared to the massive bills incurred by many patients in the last weeks and months of their lives. Already in Britain, There is a serious under- provision of expensive therapies like renal dialysis and intensive care, with the result that many otherwise preventable deaths occur. Legalizing euthanasia would save substantial financial resources which could be diverted to more "useful" treatments. These economic concerns already exert pressure to accept euthanasia, and, if accepted, they will inevitability tend to enlarge the category of patients for whom euthanasia is permitted... "Do not tolerate killing". Now is the time for the medical profession to rally in defense of its fundamental moral principles, torepudiate any and all acts of direct and intentional killing by physicians and their agents. We call on the profession and itsleadership to obtain the best advice, regarding both theory and practice, about how to defend the profession's moral center and to resist grow...
