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  3. 1 "It is always consoling to think of suicide," the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "in that way one gets

1 "It is always consoling to think of suicide," the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "in that way one gets

admin2010-03-25  41
问题    1     "It is always consoling to think of suicide," the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "in that way one gets through many a bad night."
   2     Restless nights have returned to Oregon, thanks to U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft.
   3     Despite more urgent matters on his platter these days, he has found time to make a backdoor assault on the Oregon law that permits doctor-assisted suicide.
   4     In a Nov. 6 letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ashcroft declared that any doctor who prescribes lethal drugs for the terminally iii can face revocation of his or her license to prescribe any drugs.
   5     Oregon filed suit Nov. 7 and U. S. District Judge Robert E. Jones in Portland temporarily blocked the federal government from enforcing Ashcroft’s order at least until Nov. 20.
   6     I wish Oregon luck. After all, if executed criminals have the right to a pain free death, why shouldn’t the rest of us?
   7     As in all dilemmas, this one offers a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives: allow the terminally ill to choose suicide, if they wish, or force them to hang on in an agony, too sick to live, not sick enough to die.
   8     Some of us have been through the agony of watching a loved one endure an agonizing exit. For others, it is simply a terrible thought. The thought of prolonged suffering at the end of our lives is probably more painful for many of us than our fear of death itself.
   9     When there is some hope of recovery, people tend to hang on fiercely and heroically. But when hope is gone, when the doctor says it’s just a matter of time, some of us would rather not prolong the inevitable.
   10    Oregon voters debated and anguished and narrowly chose the right to choose physician-assisted suicide in 1994. When legal challenges came, voters returned to the polls three years later and reaffirmed their decision by a bigger margin, 60 percent to 40 percent.
   11     Unlike the abortion issue, we are talking here about one’s right to choose one’s own death.
   12    Under the state’s "Death with Dignity Act", a terminally ill patient may take lethal drugs if two doctors agree the person has less than six months to live and is mentally competent to make the decision to end his or her life.
   13     That should ease the worry that those who want to live might be terminated against their will by, say, greedy or simply impatient heirs.
   14    And contrary to the dire predictions of critics, there has not been a stampede to the euthanasia parlors.
   15    Since Oregon’s law went into effect in late 1997, only about 70 terminally iii people have chosen to kill themselves this way, according to the Oregon Health Division. That averages out to fewer than 20 people a year.
   16     Many more have picked up the lethal drugs from their doctors, yet died without taking them. Many are said to have found it spiritually therapeutic in their final days simply to know that the option of an early exit is there, were their remaining lives to become too painful to bear.
   17    Assisted suicide, Ashcroft said, is not a "legitimate medical purpose" for prescribing or handing out drugs. If not, what is? Perhaps Ashcroft thinks medical treatment is legitimate only if it is intended to cure, not to comfort. Maybe he thinks medicine is not legitimate when it eases pain and discomfort, even among those whose conditions are terminal.
   18     Oregon’s doctor-assisted suicide law is about as reasonable as such a law can be, but not reasonable enough for Ashcroft. Unable to overturn the law outright, Ashcroft took a backdoor route to block the expressed will of the state’s voters. In the words of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Aschcroft "tossed the ballots of Oregon voters in the trash can."
   19     How ironic! As a candidate, George W. Bush railed on the presidential campaign trail against Washington’s intrusions on matters that should best be left up to the states. Now that Bush is in the White House, he stands back while Ashcroft similarly intrudes into a matter that should best be left up to the states.
   20     Despite his lofty legal arguments, Ashcroft appears to be using the law only to enforce his personal faith and moral convictions. All of us Americans should defend his right to hold onto his beliefs. But the Constitution is supposed to prevent him from imposing his beliefs on us.
   21     Ashcroft’s agents have enough on their hands these days trying to track down terrorists. They don’t need to be trying to second-guess doctors on how much painkiller they should give out.
What is the general tone of the author?
选项 A、indifferent
B、dialectal
C、ironic
D、objective
答案C
解析 此题为一般推理题。据第2段中thanks to U．S．Atty．Gen．John Ashcroft、第20段的lofty arguments等可确定。
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