Euthanasia

Velma Howard, age 76, knew her life was coming to an end. Lou Gehrig’s disease was taking away the use of her limbs one by one. Eventually it would affect her throat and she would be in danger of choking on her own saliva. With her left arm useless, and her legs weakening, Velma began to think about an accelerated death. Her health was quickly getting worse. Most of all, she did not want to linger for months in painful decline, dragging down her aging husband and her family at the same time. Velma read books on assisted suicide, talked on the telephone with a right to die group, and discussed her plan with close friends and immediate family. With a lot of thinking, Velma ultimately decided on assisted suicide. Unable to write clearly, Velma made a three-minute audio tape outlining her reasons for deciding to die now rather than wait. On the tape she accepted full responsibility for her actions, stressing that no one else should be blamed.

Velma practiced what is called eut...