Spreuken over Dood

[Dr. Peter Goodwin, an Oregon physician who is an expert on that state's Death with Dignity, which is being challenged by the Bush Administration before the U.S. Supreme Court, presented his own views.] I have treated scores of terminally-ill patients, and not one of them wanted to die. Not one of them wanted to 'kill' themselves, ... These patients wanted to live as long as they could experience life. They did not, however, want to prolong their deaths. As a physician, I resent the term 'physician-assisted suicide.' I have never felt I was assisting a suicidal patient, but rather aiding a patient with his or her end-of-life choice.

One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic

My dad died 10 years ago, ... He was an AIDS death. I was fortunate that I was able to take two or three months off and be with him at the end. We were very close.

Death is the tyrant of the imagination

I have a rendezvous with Death At some disputed barricade, When Spring comes back with rustling shade And apple blossoms fill the air