“THERE is more to life than breathing.” This was how Ted Kulongoski, governor of Oregon, explained his support recently for his state’s Death With Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to have someone help them end their life. Many people would doubtless agree, but not all of them would support the implication: that when someone with a terminal illness loses the will to live, it is OK to help them kill themselves.
Since the Oregon law came into effect in 1997, “mercy killing” has become a hotly debated issue in many countries (see “Last rights”). This month a…
