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　Doctor-assisted dying
　　
　　安乐死
　　
　　One door closes, another opens
　　
　　上帝关上一扇门的同时会为你打开一扇窗
　　
　　A missed opportunity in Britain; a chance to be seized in California
　　
　　英国错失良机，加州把握机遇
　　
　　SHOULD doctors be allowed to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients who ask for it? For this newspaper the answer is simple: the state should no more intrude on personal decisions at the close of life than at any point during it. But doctor-assisted dying is legal in only a few European countries, Colombia and four sparsely populated American states.
　　
　　一个备受疾病折磨的绝症病人要求医生开药结束其生命，那么医生的这种行为应该合法吗？在此则新闻里，答案再简单不过：比起其他方面，国家最不应该在病人选择结束生命这一点干涉其个人意愿。然而，只有在部分欧洲国家、哥伦比亚以及四个人口稀疏的美洲国家，安乐死才是合法的。
　　
　　Last week, for the first time since both places said “no” in the 1990s, law makers in Britain and California voted on this question—and came to different conclusions.By 330 to 118, British MPs rejected a bill modelled on Oren’s 1997 Death with Dignity Act; by narrow ermargins, California’s state assembly and senate passed a similar measure. Ifits vernor, Jerry Brown, does not veto the bill within 30 days,doctor-assisted dying will soon be legal in America’s most populous state.
　　
　　自20世纪90年代以来，英国和加州于上周首次同时将安乐死拒之门外。两国的立法者就这一问题进行投票表决，却得到了两个截然不同的结果。英国国会议员以330票反对，118票赞成，否决了这项效仿1997年俄勒冈州的《尊严死亡法》的法案；而加州众议院和参议院则以微弱的优势通过了一项相似的法案。如果州长杰瑞·布朗没有在30天内投反对票，安乐死将会在美国人口最多的州合法化。
　　
　　California’s bill had seemed stalled; it was revived in a special legislative session. The British bill, by contrast,had momentum. In 2010 the director of public prosecutions had said that those accompanying loved ones to clinics in Switzerland, where doctor-assisted dying is legal, would not face charges.And last year a similar bill had made od progress in the House of Lords, Britain’s upper chamber, before running out oftime. But both shared a common feature: they were proposed by individual politicians, not the vernment. Indeed, everywhere that doctor-assisted dying has been considered or legalised, change has been spurred on by campaigning patients and their supporters, not by main stream political parties. vernments have preferred to avoid the issue—even though solid majorities of voters in most Western countries favour giving the terminally ill the option of apainless way out.
　　
　　加利福尼亚的法案似乎已经失效，但在一次特别立法会议上又得以重生。相比之下，英国的法案则得以不断推进。英国检察长在2010年说过，在瑞士，“安乐死”是合法化的，那些陪伴亲人到诊所走完一生的人们并不会面临指控。去年，与之类似的法案在英国上议院取得了不错的进展，但最终却无疾而终。但是两者都有一个共同的特征:都是政客自己的提议，而不是政府。事实上，在每一个“安乐死”得以被考虑或最终合法化的地方，这些变化都是是由病人的群体运动和他们的支持者所推动的，而不是被主流政党推行。在大多西方国家，即使有大量坚定的选民支持“安乐死”，给临终病人一个选择以无痛方式结束生命的权利，但是各国政府却始终在回避这个问题。
　　
　　Critics fear that legalising doctor-assisted suicide will start a slippery slide towards mass euthanasia.But this has not happened in Oren, where in 17 years just 1,327 lethal doses have been dispensed—and that counts people who moved to Oren specifically todie, including Brittany Maynard, a Californian with terminal brain cancer whose story moved some Californian lawmakers into supporting the bill. As The Economist has reported, there is little evidence that assisted-dying laws have been abused, and plenty that they alleviate suffering. Some fear that, if the option is available, sick or disabled people will feel undue pressure to make use of it. But this has not happened, either. On the contrary, many have found that having control over the timing and manner of their death has given them greater dignity and autonomy.
　　
　　评论家担心安乐死合法化会导致事情滑向大规模安乐死的极端。但是这并没有在俄勒冈州发生，这个州在十七年里只有1327个人寻求安乐死——这当中还包括了特地去俄勒冈州寻求安乐死的人。例如布列塔尼玛尼——一个脑癌晚期的加利福尼亚人。他的故事感动了很多加利福尼亚的人，进而使他们支持这个法案。就像《经济学人》报道的，几乎没有证据表明安乐死法律被滥用，更多的证据表明他们减轻病人的痛苦。有些人担心，如果这是可自我选择的，生病的或者残疾的人可能会因为压力过大而采取安乐死。但是这也没有发生。相反地，许多人发现安乐死能控制他们死亡的时间和方式，给予了他们更多的尊严和对生命的自我选择权。
　　
　　Leading from the front
　　
　　从正面来说
　　
　　Assisted dying has powerful, respectable opponents, including some doctors and religious leaders. California’s medical association recently dropped its opposition, but Britain’s remains opposed. The Catholic church condemns all forms of suicide.Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said he was “happy” for MPs to debate the matter, but was “notconvinced” of the need for change. Mr Brown, a Catholic, said that the issue was “important” and merited “serious consideration”, but has not made clear whether he will veto California’s bill.
　　
　　然而对安乐死也有相当数量的反对者，包括一些医生和宗教领袖。虽然加尼福尼亚的医疗协会最近不再反对，但是英国仍存在大量反对人群。天主教堂谴责所有的自杀行为。英国首相戴维•卡梅伦说过他“很开心”看到国会议员商讨此事，但是他“不认为”这一法律需要修改。天主教徒布郎先生认为这个热点话题很“很重要”，并且值得“认真考虑”，但是他还没有明确表示是否会对加利福尼亚的法案投否决票。
　　
　　Mr Brown’s conscience is his to vern;Californians deserve the same liberty. He should let this bill pass. And vernments everywhere should recognise that, just as life belongs to the individual, so should its end.
　　
　　布朗先生会做出怎样的选择由他自己决定；那么加州人也应获得同样的自由。他应该让该法案通过。各国政府也应该认识到，就像生命是属于个人的，那么生命的结束也应由个人来决定。

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