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February 20, 2006

Death by Machine

An editorial by Cinnamon Stillwell:

After suffering a stroke last year, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in a coma. Where once the world followed Sharon's every political move, medical details now dominate the news. Few believe that Sharon will recover, but no effort has been spared to try and keep him alive.

Yet some would argue that prolonging life in such a manner is cruel. That in fact, ending life in such circumstances would be the more compassionate alternative. Such is the argument put forth by proponents of euthanasia and ironically, it is in Israel that they have had their most recent success.

Late last year, the Knesset signed a new bill into law that somehow manages to approve euthanasia according to Jewish law. While it is forbidden for a person to take another's life under Jewish law, having a machine do it for you has apparently been deemed kosher. As a parliamentary spokesman put it, "The point was that it is wrong, under Jewish law, for a person's life to be taken by a person but, for a machine, it is acceptable."

Read the rest

Posted by tim at February 20, 2006 7:28 AM

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