basis. Euthanasia advocates seem veryconfident that doctors can be relied on to make the enormous effortssometimes necessary to save some lives, while at the same time assenting torequests to take other lives "Dangers of Societal Acceptance". It must never be forgotten thatdoctors, nurses, and hospital administrators have personal lives, homes andfamilies, or that they are something more than just doctors, nurses, orhospital administrators. They are citizens and a significant part of thesociety around them. We should be very worried about what theinstitutionalization of euthanasia will do to society, in general , howwill we regard murderers? (Brody 89) "The Slippery Slope". How long after acceptance of voluntary euthanasiawill we hear the calls for non-voluntary euthanasia? There are thousands ofcomatose or demented patients sustained by little more than good nursingcare. They are an enormous financial and social burden. How long will theadvocates of euthanasia be arguing that we should "assist them in dying". "Costs and Benefits". Perhaps the most disturbing risk of all is posedby the growing concern over medical costs. Euthanasia is, after all, a verycheap service. The cost of a dose of barbiturates and curare and the fewhours in a hospital bed that it takes them to act is minute compared to themassive bills incurred by many patients in the last weeks and months oftheir lives. Already in Britain, There is a serious under- provision ofexpensive therapies like renal dialysis and intensive care, with the resultthat many otherwise preventable deaths occur. Legalizing euthanasia wouldsave substantial financial resources which could be diverted to more"useful" treatments. These economic concerns already exert pressure toaccept euthanasia, and, if accepted, they will inevitability tend toenlarge the category of patients for whom euthanasia is permitted... "Do not tolerate killing". Now is the time for the medical profe...
