LETTERS: ASSISTED SUICIDE NO PAIN TREATMENT

To the editor:

"Reno lets Oregon suicide law alone" screams the June 6 headline. Attorney General Janet Reno decided the day before that federal drug agents cannot move against doctors who help terminally ill patients die under Oregon's landmark death-with-dignity law.

As I write this, a number of pro-death organizations are pushing for similar legislation to legalize euthanasia throughout the United States.

Let us not be fooled by those who advocate euthanasia by lying about what really takes place or by using softer terms. This is not about reducing pain, reducing cumbersome treatments, letting nature take its course, pulling the plug or accepting a natural and dignified death.

There is nothing natural about the act of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is not a treatment for pain. It is invasive and ruthlessly fatal.

CHRISTINE E. STEPHENS

Cape Girardeau