>It strikes me that encouraging euthanasia at this point is problematic

I don't believe the article was about encouraging euthanasia, and I'm certainly not talking about encouraging it. That implies that caretakers and others are pressuring the sick person. I'm talking about the person with the terminal illness making his or her own decisions.

And yes, control is a huge and important issue for many autonomous adults. I do not want anyone to take control of MY life out of MY hands. Even if I'm out of MY mind, it is no one else's right to make decisions for me. If I make a Living Will while my mind is whole, I expect it to be honored. Period.

There is a difference between *condoning* the grandmother's suicide and *promoting* it.

And read the context of what I wrote--I was talking about a Living Will and how if a person has written one, it should be honored even if the person has no mental capacity at the end. Of course, Living Wills need to be carefully written, because on the one hand, they shouldn't (and can't legally) say anyone can legally kill themselves simply because they're depressed. And if they don't include the kind of case that ends up being the killer, they're worthless, as one poster noted.

You're right that this IS about individual rights, but also, as many people have noted, about our obligations to family and friends. And the complexities don't shake out simply as either/or even here. Some are worried that exercising one's right to die can hurt family and community who love the person and aren't ready to let go. But others are concerned that one might exercise a right to die when the patient isn't ready to let go simply to ease the burden of family and community.

This is a huge issue, bigger than abortion because only a great percentage of people are faced with unwanted pregnancies while every single one of us faces our own death one day. There are enormous implications--moral, ethical, and, horrifyingly because of the way America has made health care such a for-profit enterprise, financial.

I don't know what the answers are. But I do know that I want some control over my final months, weeks, days, and hours just as I have control over my time now. And just as I decided long ago that I would never have an abortion (though if I were raped I'd have had the morning-after pill or a D&C as soon as possible to prevent any possibility of implantation) while still believing that the choice is every woman's to make, I think everyone facing terminal or permanently debilitating and agonizing medical condition should get ultimate control over how they die. There are more and less moral ways of dealing with this, and those with healthy family communication certainly have it easier than anyone. Suicide may be a fundamentally selfish act. But then, it's fundamentally selfish to hang onto someone you love, forcing them to endure the unendurable because you don't want to face an inevitable end.

As normal as parental anxiety and worry is, it's important not to communicate this with children, at least not if you want them to feel empowered to meet life's challenges, not fearful of or defiant about them. My daughter has bicycled, with one or two friends and no outside support, around Lake Superior when she was 19 and down the Mississippi from northern Minnesota to New Orleans when she was 23. It was easy to imagine all the horrible things that could have happened, and the mother of one girl did all that. She was a basket case, and made it so hard for her daughter to even talk to her that she just stopped calling her mother. Meanwhile my daughter called me almost every day, bubbling over with excitement about each adventure.

As the Paul Simon song goes, you've got to learn how to fall before you learn to fly, and when we keep our children from learning how to fall, we're essentially grounding them for life. The fact that your friends recognize your pessimism indicates that you're pretty open about your fears--from what I've seen as a teacher and scout leader, that's the primary ingredient in producing both the most fearful and the most reckless children.

So as a conscientious parent do what you can to minimize possible dangers and repercussions from dangers, but also do your bests to overcome your own fears. Life--the hard and the fun and the glorious and the horrifying--is the gift you've given your child. But it will be ever so much harder for your child to learn to deal with life without your example.

I'm mystified why Toyota Priuses aren't selling faster in the US. I have to do a lot of driving for my work. I bought a 2004 Prius three years ago, have over 108,000 miles on it, and have averaged better than 50 mpg on it. I received my $1500 extended warranty fee back because I hit 100,000 miles without needing ANY work on the car other than routine maintenance. It's comfortable, and roomy enough that when one side of the backseat is down, I can fit a fully inflated air mattress and sleeping bag in it. It has great pickup when entering a busy expressway, is silent when I stop--really, it's the most pleasant and easiest car I've ever had.

NaR's point: "I don't know if it was in the final bill, but a MAJOR change was the inclusion of small trucks into the CAFE numbers. If they were included today the average fleet mileage would drop precipitously" is important. In the 80s, the automakers persuaded Congress to define SUVs and minivans as "light trucks," excluding them from passenger vehicle safety and environmental standards, including CAFE standards. Changing this is a big step in the right direction.