The decision to live is a personal one, and humans should not be criminalized for committing suicide if they choose. Everyone has different levels of disability and deals with them differently. In the wild, injured wolves are shunned by the pack. Humans say they are different, but should they be? Not everyone has a great support system and living can be more painful than dying in many cases. The right to death should be judged no more than the right to life.
From: Lori Michaelson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2016 5:53 PM To: Ben Mattlin; quad-list Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] quad movie-You Before Me The movie Whose Life Is It Anyway? [opened December 1981] starring Richard Dreyfuss is another movie. I watched it several years ago and still have it. Plot below: Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a 1981 film adapted by Brian Clark<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fBrian_Clark_(writer)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=TcHGHD6oeoe90EtVSM6IhUhF%2b04FCRxfsQQx64TuId8%3d> and Reginald Rose<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fReginald_Rose&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=k9ED%2fcdu%2fNXuguHHfQLVOiHoVYRKSEkxqiRq2WSOmgE%3d> from a 1972 television movie and Clark's play of the same title. The film is directed by John Badham<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fJohn_Badham&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=Li83lLIkaQcYFZc7JMZGP0JoD83Gim5GzTSWw41rTzY%3d> and stars Richard Dreyfuss<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fRichard_Dreyfuss&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=A1%2bE93ccoPvThjeOJNslbbuvAWI9bEj%2fmxxi2iY9dyg%3d>. Plot After a car accident, sculptor Ken Harrison becomes a quadriplegic<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fQuadriplegia&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=htoXlO8S45Tx%2br2QR0%2bS35oy6WtoJCobRwW893eDl2E%3d> who sues for the right to end his life<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fEuthanasia&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=w5qwwD0hS%2fWtZur077kBlTtZmNQYX0Dav%2fVcgVCV144%3d>, no longer able to create art, make love or have any semblance of a normal existence. He hires a lawyer (Bob Balaban<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fBob_Balaban&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=sm%2fOMCjj2QQwoF3QNYWZICmpi%2bkkYjcKSJurL%2fO7rnc%3d>) who, reluctantly at first, represents Harrison while knowing that he is trying to win his client a death sentence<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fDeath_sentence&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=APDjzTYIx9ff4id34EA%2fDJe%2bPVDsHAb2Z87T3cvYNR0%3d>. Staunchly opposed to euthanasia is a by-the-book hospital administrator (John Cassavetes<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fJohn_Cassavetes&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=7Qk%2fn8FLE4itZSCUWC3ZnHWISqIgujLGlytI345N54Q%3d>), who is determined to keep his patient alive even against his wishes, and sympathetic doctor (Christine Lahti<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fChristine_Lahti&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=MXcr%2bJ7GaJlcyDveQKBIajV3ao3gr0XG7M3QEf6GMQk%3d>), who develops personal feelings for Harrison. She wants to keep him alive, even though Harrison's girlfriend has accepted his decision. A young orderly (Thomas Carter<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fThomas_Carter_(director)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=MSkzINIibFGfKQM8Q4nTHSAQ3psH40Yhzs3KUTsOLLU%3d>) and nurse (Kaki Hunter<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fKaki_Hunter&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=BrC%2fDB7V%2bWnMo%2fuqX8iMt7%2bDQl8uW7kY%2baN2BFvw6bo%3d>) do what they can to keep Harrison's spirits up, even wheeling him to a hospital basement where they treat him to reggae music and marijuana. In the end, though, it is up to a judge (Kenneth McMillan<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fKenneth_McMillan_(actor)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=Ch6pWJz4ezvzXZgriTz1UzDPbNdJlsHh%2bgpbC0HCRCU%3d>) whether the patient has a moral, ethical and legal right to choose to die.
