The American Spectator

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p> SUSPICIOUS WILLS br> Re: Lawrence Henry's Am I On Life Support? : /p>

Thank you very much for publishing Lawrence Henry's "Am I On Life Support?" Mr. Henry puts a human face on the many people who require assistance with living. I'm glad he tore up his health-care proxy, because I believe that these documents, along with living wills and the like, will be used in the not-too-distant future (maybe as early as today!) to kill those whose lives have become inconvenient.

p>Given that most of us no longer grow our own food, don't dig our own wells, and use devices made of steel, rubber, and plastic to go to and from work, most of us rely, at least in part, on "artificial means" to live. Lest anyone think I'm making some kind of a joke, ask yourself if you would have believed a few years ago that any judge anywhere in the U.S. would prevent oral feedings after a feeding tube was withdrawn. br> -- Mark Edward Soper /p>

Like Mr. Henry, these days I take these self-named "angels of mercy" a bit personally. While my situation is far less dramatic than his, nonetheless all the big thinkers who insist that the right thing was done for Terri Schiavo make me uneasy.

Last year, our "deeply flawed" healthcare system saved my life. Through the treatment of a relatively minor medical condition, it was "accidentally" discovered I had cancer. This resulted in my left kidney being removed along with a tumor that sat on its top during a four-hour operation.

Mind you, this was done not at the Mayo Clinic or some super advanced medical facility renown all over the world. All this was done by an excellent hospital along with a group of excellent doctors you will find in any major city in any state in the Union.

Now I am a diabetic with some neurological problems who must fight a family history of alcoholism and heart disease -- and who has only one functioning kidney. On paper my medical health must look below average and as I age it is only likely to get worse.

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