by Michael M. Uhlmann

About the author: Michael M. Uhlmann is a Washington attorney and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Editor’s Note: On June 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not guarantee a “right to die.” However, states are not precluded from passing laws that would establish this right.

Critics of Roe v. Wade have long contended that the principles used to justify abortion would soon or late be used to justify other forms of medical killing such as voluntary and, eventually, involuntary euthanasia. Slippery slope arguments are often overdone, but the fact remains that virtually every argument for taking a human life in utero can be applied to a human life ex utero, including yours and mine. Is the person “unwanted...