In a disturbing case in Georgia, four members of a so-called “right-to-die” organization have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of helping a man commit suicide.
Though all such “assisted-suicide” cases are troubling, what makes this one more so is that the man who died was not terminally ill. He had cancer, but his physician said he was not dying. To the contrary, he was recovering, according to authorities.
That highlights a serious argument against assisted suicide: Opening the door to assisted suicide for those who are dying is in fact a slippery slope toward “helping” others — who may not be near death — into an early grave.
Indeed, one of the men set to be arraigned next month in Forsyth County, Ga., near Atlanta, told The Associated Press last year that even sick people who are not dying need the group’s “support” in committing suicide.
The suspects have not been proved guilty, and they deserve their day in court. But the accusations leveled by Georgia authorities are alarming. Authorities say the man who died had a hood — a so-called “exit bag” — secured over his head. Helium was pumped in to kill him. Officials say helium was used because it cannot be detected in an autopsy.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the group, called the Final Exit Network, also discussed its methods with an undercover agent, who told the organization he wanted to die because he had pancreatic cancer. One of the suspects “walked the undercover agent through the steps that would have killed him,” the AP reported. The suspect “allegedly demonstrated how he would hold down the agent’s hands to prohibit him from removing the ‘exit bag.'”
That sounds like something out of a horror movie.
Suicide is a tragedy under any circumstances. It certainly ought not to be encouraged or aided in any way. That is especially true when a person is sick — terminally or otherwise — and may not be thinking clearly.
It is for a court to determine whether the suspects are guilty. If they are found guilty, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.