PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR CONFERENCE FEATURES ANTI-EUTHANASIA SPEAKER

Euthanasia is not the answer for the terminally ill, a Cape Girardeau pastor told a convention of county public administrators Wednesday evening.

"Ending life is God's domain," the Rev. Ron Watts told a group of about 120 public administrators visiting Cape Girardeau for a three-day convention. "To do anything else is playing God."

Phyllis Schwab, elected as Cape Girardeau County's public administrator in November, said Watts' message was needed encouragement for those who handle affairs of the dying on a daily basis.

"I haven't been doing this for too long," Schwab said. "But I've found it takes most of your emotions most days."

Public administrators are assigned by the circuit court to handle the financial and personal affairs of disabled, incapacitated and deceased adults and cases involving minors.

Watts, who is pastor of Cape LaCroix United Methodist Church, told the group about some of his experiences as a pastor dealing with the dying. He recalled speaking with a family this week whose mother was given 72 hours to live.

"She was afraid that she was going to have to go to the hospital to die," Watts said.

Replacing the concept of euthanasia with the compassion of hospice care is a better alternative, he said.

In the Netherlands, where euthanasia is practiced legally, guidelines for its practice are not working, Watts said. Generally, euthanasia advocates say it should be reserved for the terminally ill or those with unbearable pain.