tiny.
Recent legal rulings have clarified the position of the courts, particularly regarding the physician's role in prescribing lethal doses of medicine to aid in a voluntary ending of a life. The Second Court of Appeals struck down a New York state law which previously prohibited doctors from writing such prescriptions, following a similar ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco. Michael D. Lemonick observes what these decisions signal: "The laws against physician-assisted suicide now on the books in the majority of states may be on their way out." Along with the highly publicized activities of Kevorkian, dubbed by the press "Dr. Death," these legal trends have encouraged extensive public debate on when, if ever, ending one's life is acceptable.
One of the most eloquent voices against choosing to die for any reason is Dr. Viktor E. Frankl. Frankl is the founder of logotherapy, healing through meaning, the third school of Viennese psychotherapy. Logotherapy seeks to help patients discover purpose in their lives as a solution to psychological trauma. Frankl writes, "Does death really decrease the meaningfulness of life? On the contrary . . . [for] in the face of death . . . we are under the imperative of utilizing our lifetimes to the utmost." The logotherapist believes that the patient who decides to kill himself, even facing a severely diminished quality of life from which he has no chance of recovery, nevertheless can be helped to find a reason to live.
Frankl's view is shared by others, particularly those who deal with terminal patients on a regular basis. Lemonick quotes Dr. William Wood, clinical director of the Winship Cancer Center at Emory University in Atlanta, who contends, "If we treat their depression and we treat their pain, I've never had a patient who wanted to die." Frankl agrees that the will to live underlies and ultimately will overcome all other drives if given the chance. He w...