Facing Up to the Idea of Death With Dignity
Tim Rutten’s statement that the Hemlock Society has a “morbid preoccupation with suicide and financial interest in promoting Proposition 161” is biased, irresponsible and inaccurate.
Most people associated with the Hemlock Society have debilitating diseases themselves, have loved ones who do, have watched loved ones die under excruciatingly painful conditions, are people who have worked with the terminally ill as patients or clients, or are people who want to have control over their own deaths as they have learned to have control over their lives.
We are not preoccupied with suicide; we are preoccupied with alleviating suffering and a dignified death. To imply that anyone is going to get rich from this enterprise is ill-advised and insulting.
ZENA PEARLSTONE
Hemlock Society
Los Angeles
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