Life vs. Living

A reader writes:

I have to take serious issue with the reader who responds that it is grotesque for you to kill your dying child sooner rather than later. The reader says that each moment spent with an unborn child that cannot survive should be cherished and that such experiences have been part of the human condition since the dawn of history. I have to wonder how such an individual can even think that this attitude is a respect for life. It's simply a respect for suffering.

We put our pets down so that they may spared the misery and keep some dignity when their last moments approach. Many of us want this for ourselves when our last moments approach, especially if the are going to be long, lingering, painful moments, or an eternity languishing in a coma with no sign of brain activity. Most of us would not wish the crippling medical payments upon our families to prolong the inevitable for just a few more days of pain and drugs. As medical science continues to advance we will become better off at prolonging death, but at what cost?