X-Message-Number: 12010
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: a comment about pain and its alleviation
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 23:00:44 +1000 (EST)

About suicide:

One point that most people talking about alleviation of pain quite
characteristically fail to understand is that there are far worse pains
than those which can be alleviated by physical means.

To know that you are helpless is painful in that way. To know that you are
likely to soon die is also painful in that way. And such pains cannot be
alleviated simply by adroit use of current painkillers. In fact, for
someone who has actually faced the possibility of death, the entire notion
of alleviating pain by careful use of painkillers is completely
half-assed.

The people of Oregon may know this much better than their legislators ---
or than those in the US Congress. 

			Best and long long life to all,

				Thomas Donaldson

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