PressEthic

There are many important stories in the news these days: the aftermath of two devastating hurricanes, two ongoing wars with terrorist attacks almost everyday, and two new judges in the Supreme Court. But the NBC Nightly News decided to start its broadcast tonight with a law that was passed eight years ago in Oregon, allowing doctor-assisted suicide.

Under this “death with dignity” law, dying patients in Oregon can obtain lethal doses of medication from their doctors, the AP reports. An attempt to repeal the law was rejected by 60% of the voters in Oregon in 1997. The Bush administration is opposed to this practice. The law was yesterday under review by the US Supreme Court, which must decide whether or not it is inconsistent with federal anti-drug laws.

This is definitely a very sensitive issue, or as Brian Williams puts it, “an emotional topic across the country these days.” It involves many ethical and sometimes religious considerations. I am myself undecided on this issue.

But things need to be put into perspective. Since 1997, only 208 patients have resorted to this “death with dignity law.” Most of them were suffering from cancer or AIDS. Their medical treatments were not efficient anymore. Therefore, it is likely that the law only allowed them to shorten their lives by a few days, or at most a few weeks. Moreover, they knew what they were doing when they took the drugs. Finally, they could probably have committed suicide another way had the law not existed.

So this is definitely an important story. But is it the most important challenge facing America these days? Is it the first thing people should know about when they watch the news? Are the war in Iraq or the help to Hurricane victims only secondary issues?