This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It is obvious that America has no solution for its current health care and end-of-life cost problem. That should prompt a realistic look at how we will deal with a three-decade run of deteriorating baby boomers. Death comes to all and this country can no longer afford its obsession with postponing the inevitable, no matter the cost.

What will the new paradigm be when the money isn't there to indulge the faith-based views on death and dying? What will it be like when maintaining lives no longer generates obscene profits for the greedy who take no part in treating and caring for those who suffer most?

We need laws granting rational adults the right to a timely and pain-free death with dignity. No one should have to endure an expensive, drawn out death process in service to greed and ignorance.

The legalization of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide would not solve the financial problems associated with the American way of dying, but it would demonstrate a genuine respect for freedom of the individual and eliminate a lot of unnecessary suffering that is morally indefensible.

Paul B. Fluehe

Salt Lake City