by Don Sloan

About the author: Don Sloan is a contributor to Political Affairs, a monthly magazine published by the Communist Party USA.

The debate over doctor-assisted suicide almost suggests that Americans are preoccupied with death in that we seem to be constantly arguing the pros and cons over things that involve dying or killing in some way. Abortion, an issue that just will not go away, has transcended all aspects of law, science, politics, religion and morals. Doctors who legally perform this medical chore have been labeled “murderers” by anti-choice proponents. The crux of abortion has somehow filtered down to where life starts and ends.

The death penalty has been in the forefront of our thinking way beyond and before the Supreme Court turnaround in 1972. Since then, nearly 350 men, mostly...