, "is that I am not guilty of any legal or moral wrong and ultimately my position will be vindicated.

Not long afterward, Dr. Sanders was acquitted. But even after he was declared innocent, some were intent on punishing the doctor. His license to practise medicine was suspended. And while some clergymembers had supported Dr. Sanders, others loudly condemned him from their pulpits. Among them was the Reverend Billy Graham, who stated in Boston that "Dr. Sanders should be punished as an example" and that "anyone who voluntarily, knowingly or premeditatedly takes the life of another, even one minute prior to death, is a killer.

While Dr. Sanders was not permitted to practise medicine, he supported himself and his family by working as a farm hand. Finally the Medical Board of the State of New Hampshire reinstated his license. And Dr. Sanders has continued as a doctor in his hometown ever since.

II . Read

Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

l. Euthanasia: Life or Death Matter

Euthanasia, or mercy killing, is quietly being practised in some urban areas of China despite a lack of legal protection for the death option.

Helping to hasten the death of terminally ill patients is humane, said Cai Wenmei, an associate professor at the Institute of Population at Beijing

University.

Death should not be viewed.as a failure, but as a normal and natural stage of life, according to Cai. People have the right to die.

Death, Cai said, is as natural as birth and, like birth, is sometimes a hard process requiring assistance. It is unnecessary to artificially maintain

life beyond the point when people can never regain consciousness.

Statistics indicate that medical treatment for a comatose patient costs 26, 000 yuan a year, a heavy burden for the hospital and the patient,s family.

"Extending an incurably ill patient's life means the same as aggravating

his pain," Cai said.

Birth and death are both natural events, but the emotional impact and the personal meanings of these events are vastly different. Birth is usually anticipated with excitement and joy, while the reality of death is often avoided as best one can.

Views on death are changing in China, where a traditional saying is that debt is better than death, and doctors and nurses do everything they can to save dying patients, including the use of medication and life-support systems.

A survey of 200 old people shows that 92 per cent do not fear death. They do not want a long waiting period. They want to die with dignity and peace, instead of agony and degradation. Euthanasia is a progressive way to die, said a report in Beijing Daily.

Mercy killing can hasten the death of hopelessly ill individuals by withholding life-sustaining procedures so that death will occur naturally and quickly.

According to Cai, euthanasia can end the pain of terminally ill patients and can also be a great relief to their family members, both mentally and physically.

However, the general adoption of the practice of euthanasia would require changes in ethics and this should happen only after the issue is carefully considered by society.

Cai suggests working out laws on euthanasia to protect the practice. Mercy killing, generally induced by an injection of sedatives, should be performed only at the patient's request, with the consent of his relati

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