by John Hardwig

About the author: John Hardwig teaches medical ethics and social and political philosophy at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.

When [former Colorado governor] Richard Lamm made the statement that old people have a duty to die, it was generally shouted down or ridiculed. The whole idea is just too preposterous to entertain. Or too threatening. In fact, a fairly common argument against legalizing physician-assisted suicide is that if it were legal, some people might somehow get the idea that they have a duty to die. These people could only be the victims of twisted moral reasoning or vicious social pressure. It goes without saying that there is no duty to die.

A Crucial Question

But for me the question is real and very important. I feel strongly that I...