European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 20, 1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page 17 Quality of life a dangerous euthanasia guide Cal Thomas last week a judge in Wayne county mich., declared part of the state Law against assisted suicide unconstitutional. In his original ruling Wayne county circuit court judge Richara Kaufman Drew a distinction Between people who have what he termed a Quot Low Quality of life and wish to commit suicide and those who have a higher a Quality of  the Law could not apply to the former. It could apply to the latter. This is the Type of ruling we might expect under some proposed forms of Universal health care in which the government decides who should live and who should die bas4 on a formula that determines who is productive and who is a Drain on limited government resources. Although Kaufman later struck Down the Law Banning assisted suicide he did raise the Issue that the Choice of suicide is inherently More a rational Quot and a a reasonable if made by people with disabilities or with any medical condition that adversely affects a persons a Quality of  a when government begins deciding who is fit to live and who deserves to die we Are All potential victims. But this is the inevitable outcome when society moves from a View that All human life is sacred to one that considers the right to life a privilege granted by government and not something endowed by life a creator. Although the Legal questions remain muddled it be seem to be heading in a disturbing direction. Are we ready for this scenario two people come before the judge each wishing to commit suicide with the help of or. Jack Kevorkian. It is up to the judge to decide which of these petitioners is making an objectively a a rational request based on the seriousness of his or her disability and likelihood of recovery and which will make the greater contribution to society Given limited medical resources. The judge will decide that the More seriously disabled person does indeed have the right to suicide while the healthier person will be covered by the Law preventing assisted suicide. If the state becomes a modern Day Caesar All of us will be colosseum spectators of a display of bigotry against the infirm and the handicapped. As people present themselves a Caesar a according to a judges standards will give thumbs up or thumbs Down. Hail Caesar. We who Are about to die Salute you. It will be an even Shorter trip from you your Ity ered by National health care to the states telling you that you have to die because you Are too expensive a Burden to the states doing the killing. You will then get the ultimate and final House Call by Quot or. Death a Jack Kevorkian and the new Industry Jie will spawn. Contemplating these life and death issues gives us insight into other disturbing trends. For example it strips the mask of Quot individual autonomy from the euthanasia movement. Few people accept the idea that everybody from depressed teen agers to bankrupt cos to disappointed lovers has a fundamental right to suicide. The euthanasia movement wants us to acknowledge that there arc certain people for whom suicide is perfectly rational and therefore expected those who do not live up to our Conception of the fun Loving Quot meaningful  coming next will be an education program designed to ensure that people know How to exercise their right to die and to Comfort them with the knowledge that our Legal system will Back them All the Way to the grave. Why do we have such a preoccupation with death could it be that after succeeding in Banning god from the Center of Public and private life we have discovered Little for which to live Clos Angeles . Mistaken in belief Russia is democracy on oct. 23, less than three weeks after russian president Boris n. Yeltsin had sent his tanks against the opposition politicians holed up in the parliament building . Secretary of state Warren m. Christopher addressed a student audience in Moscow on the topic a new Genera Tion of russian democrats. Rereading that speech now after russian voters gave extremist nationalists old time communists and their allies an apparent majority in the newly elected parliament Christophers words stand As a Monument to Clinton administration  Russia is being reborn As a democracy Christopher told the audience at the Academy of the National Economy a was a nation Brave enough to break with the past and Wise enough to plan for the future America celebrates this rebirth with  the Secretary of state talked about the immensity of the stakes Quot in the election forced by Yeltsin out of frustration with a parliament dominated by. The remnants of the old communist regime. A i have every Confidence in the outcome a Christopher said. Every time the russian people have chosen Reform Over retrenchment Hope Over fear the future Over the past. Not this time. In a result that apparently was not foreseen by anyone in authority in Washington the party closest to Yeltsin won Only one seventh of the popular vote. It was a setback to the reformers who split into quarrelsome blocs and got so caught up in the minor policy differences and major ego fights among their leaders that they did not counterattack the extremist parties but equally it was a setback for the Clinton administration which has bragged of the a Success of its russian policy whenever it was criticized for its wavering stance toward challenges in Bosnia Somalia Haiti and North Korea. Now its a Success Story has turned sour. The a strategic partnership with Moscow that Christopher told the student audience a is a phrase that president Clinton and i have repeatedly used is very much in doubt. The delusional character of the administration policy was demonstrated a in Advance of this election a in a dec. 2 speech by former Bush White House National Security aide Robert d. Blackwill now on the Harvard faculty challenging Clinton a and Christophers characterization of Russia As Quot a  Russia is not a democracy Quot Blackwill said a this is a nation with no history of democratic political culture in its l,d00-year  he ticked off the factors that everyone now sees As shaping the election results a a resurgence of nationalism tinged with anti Western bile a Public revulsion against the a corruption that has penetrated every element of russian life a vice president Al Gore speaking in Moscow for the administration assailed the frightening character of big election Winner Vladimir v. A Mirinovsky with his inflammatory rhetoric his ties to the Kab the German Neo nazis and Saddam Hussein. But sen. Bill Bradley d-n.j., a student of Russia is probably right in saying that although a Mirinovsky now leads the second largest bloc in parliament a the is More a political figure than a governmental figure a a greater threat in the next presidential election than in the weeks just ahead. The More serious question involves the Uncertain character of Yeltsin the Man the Clinton administration has embraced just As unreservedly As the Bush and David s. Broder r ministration in its time Clung to Mikhail s. Gorbachev ignoring the faults that led to his fall from Power. Most of official Washington hailed As the a Good news Quot from the election the approval of a new Constitution that strengthens Yeltsin a authority to Rule Russia from the presidency no matter what the opposition in parliament. That is a risky judgment. As Bradley Points out Yeltsin already has shown an authoritarian Streak. Quot he tried to curtail Freedom of speech for his opponents during the Campaign a the senator told me. He disdained the hard work of building a supportive party bloc in the legislature and instead concentrated on ramming through a Constitution that allows him to govern almost single hand edly. Quot he failed to see that democracy is a matter of people As Well As constitutions a Bradley said. Many of the Young reformers in Russia with whom i have stayed in touch since a 1989 Moscow visit have a clearer picture of their president than Washington does. Initially they welcomed his powerful personality As a rallying Point for change. But they also understood that Yeltsin s drive for Power is stronger than his commitment to democracy or his allegiance to free Market economic policies. That is Why Many of them criticized and voted against the Constitution Yeltsin drafted Ever since the soviet Union began to crumble Washington a persistent mistake has been its belief that democracy can be created from the top Down. The Young reformers know it has to be b it from the grass roots up in thousands of voluntary associations and advocacy networks. It is past time we got Over our penchant for giving Bear hugs to the Man in the Kremlin and got on with helping those struggling to build the real foundations of democracy in Russia. C the Washington Post