The Battle Of The Texas Revolution - 1910 Words

Our next discussion in American History takes us on the special journey back to the Texas Revolution. This battle saw a lot of heroes and also coined one of the most famous sayings in the state of Texas, â€Å"Remember the Alamo†! However, before we can get to all the guts and glory we must first look at the causes that lead to this epic revolution to understand both sides of the coin. I will look at the background, battles, people and results of the Texas Revolution, as well as give my opinion of the Mexican government’s innocence or blame in this battle. This story starts back on 10/01/1800, it is this day that the Treaty of San IIdefonso was signed. When the treaty was signed it returned Louisiana from Spain back to France. Spain†¦show more content†¦This is a point where Mexico only had 3,500 native Mexicans settled in Texas; so in 1821, the Spanish government granted permission to Austin to settle 300 families in Texas. Austin’s luck was about to turn around for him with this deal. On the other hand, he would not see his vision come to fruition, as he would perish on a return trip from Mexico City after being robbed. Before his untimely passing, his son Stephen F. Austin promised his father he would carry out the task and see it until the end. The year is now 1824 and a young Stephen F. Austin has attracted 272 colonists to Texas at this point; in addition to that he was also able to persuade the newly independent Mexican government to give empresarios (or land agents) 67,000 acres of land for every 200 families brought to Texas. That’s approximately 335 acres a family which is unheard of. Mexico did agree to the term with two conditions pertaining to land ownership; first the settlers had to become Mexican citizens and secondly they had to covert to Roman Catholicism. Converting to Roman Catholicism proved to be a â€Å"Puritan Problem†, however by 1830 there were 16,000 Americans in Texas. With these numbers the American formed a 4-to-1 majority in the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas, however overall Hispanic heritage formed a majority in state as a whole. With the increased swelling of the â€Å"Anglo†

Essay on Serial Killer Richard Ramirez - 4239 Words

Serial Killer Richard Ramirez Crescendo of Terror Late in the 20th Century, Hell glutted on humanity. Its first bloodletting of that season of the Devil occurred on the warm evening of June 28, 1984, when an earth-bound Lucifer found his way into the small Glassel Park apartment of 79-year-old Jennie Vincow. Throughout the Los Angeles area a damp humidity had oppressed the air that day, and when the evening came and the temperature slightly cooled, Jennie left her window open to invite what little breeze there might be into her flat. Like a fallen leaf, decayed and tossed from its source, a fallen angel, dark, angry and also decaying, blew across the sill of that open window. When the demon departed through that same†¦show more content†¦The demon vanished just as quickly as he had appeared. The police were stumped. All they knew of him was what Hernandez was able to tell them: He was tall, gaunt, dark, maybe Hispanic. This time, the killer didnt wait nearly a year to murder again. He struck within the hour. His next victim that same evening was petite Taiwanese-born Tsai-Lian Yu, who, driving her yellow Chevrolet down North Alhambra Avenue in nearby Monterey Park, withered when someone with the eyes of a madman forced his way into her car and shot her. He had thrown his own car into idle, simply entered hers, pushed her onto the pavement, called her bitch, then blew her into eternity at point-blank range. Fast. Neat. Clean. Then dematerialized into the darkness from whence he came. Childs play. The police were beginning to realize they might have a problem on their hands, but they remained stumped. Eyewitnesses who thought they had seen the killer described him as tall, gaunt, dark, maybe Hispanic. Ten days later, this elusive phantom -- whose physical description could fit any one of thousands of males in the Greater Los Angeles area -- required more blood. This time, shooting his prey didnt quite satisfy the urge; the demon must have been hungry, he must have been frantic, for when he entered the home of the sleeping Zazzara couple, he produced a bloodbath.Show MoreRelatedRichard Ramirez As A Serial Killer1050 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.† This quote was said by Ted Bundy, and it explains how anybody can turn out to be a serial killer. A serial killer’s childhood environment plays a major role in why they became a serial killer. Nurture often plays a bigger role in somebody becoming a serial killer, rather than their nature. This statement can be proven by looking at Richard Ramirez’s life, and how itRead MoreSerial Killers : Ri chard Chase Vs. Richard Ramirez1548 Words   |  7 PagesSerial Killers (Richard Chase vs. Richard Ramirez) Mrs. Stubbs-Mesumbe Business Law Nigel Payne 11/29/15 â€Æ' Most serial killers do horrific crimes because of something that affected them while they were in their childhood. Richard Ramirez †¢ Early Life Richard Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960.Richard Ramirez father was a Mexican national and was also a former Juarez policeman, who later became a laborer on the Santa Fe railroad. Richard Ramirez father Julian Ramirez fatherRead MoreSerial Killers, Organized Killers And Disorganized Killers1048 Words   |  5 PagesA serial killer is someone who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break between them. There are three types of serial killers: medical killers, organized killers, and disorganized killers. A medical killer is the rarest type of serial killers. This kind of killer feels they have the best and most perfect cover because it’s very common for people in hospitals to passRead MoreEssay about Case Analysis of Richard Ramirez1572 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction This paper presents a case analysis of Richard Ramirez, the serial killer of the 1980s better known as â€Å"The Night Stalker†. Using the qualitative method and content analysis, the findings reveal that the law enforcement procedures were minimal because of the technology available during that time and the prosecution was sufficient because of the criminal justice system. Literature Review For instance, Vetter (1990) studied the association of the intensity of the violence within theRead MoreThe Science of Criminology: Understanding the Mind of a Killer1108 Words   |  5 Pagesclassical school came about the time when major reform in the criminal justice system occurred. Richard Ramirez Serial killer – The Night Stalker: Richard Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 28, 1960. Richard was the youngest child of six, epileptic, and described by his father and mother (Julian And Mercedes Ramirez) as being a good guy, until his involvement with drugs. At the age of 18, Richard was a habitual drug user and has developed a chronic candy eating desire, resulting in toothRead MoreRichard Ramirez The `` Nightstalker ``978 Words   |  4 PagesRichard Ramirez the â€Å"Nightstalker† Richard Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas on February 29, 1960. He was the youngest of seven children born to Mercedes and Julian Ramirez. His father was abusive and would physically harm him and the rest of his siblings if any of them did something wrong. Richard was also diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy in the 5th grade. He later outgrew all of his other medical ailments and was considered to be a healthy, although a hyper and aggressive child. Richard sRead MoreTraumatic Life Experiences, Abuse, And Poor Coping Skills1228 Words   |  5 Pagesleaving this untreated can cause someone to become a serial killer. Traumatic life experiences, abuse, and an inability to have healthy coping strategies can lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Abuse, trauma, and poor coping skills combined can lead to the creation of a killer. Criminologists have identified several common life experiences that convicted serial killer have had in common. One identified experience shared by co nvicted serial killers is the witnessing a murder or death. Another isRead MoreSome Theories of Crime1983 Words   |  8 PagesTheories of crime Richard Ramirez, a 25 year old unemployed Hispanic male was responsible for at least 16 murders in Los Angeles between 1984 and 1985.his victims were of the ages of six and eight, he used a wide range of weapons like guns, knives, tire irons and even his bare hands. He was always dressed in black an AD hat and avian shoes (Grise, 2010). He attacked people all over Los Angeles and would steal cars to get to his destinations where he pawned off valuables from victims. He continuedRead More The Night Stalker Essay1809 Words   |  8 PagesStalker Richard Ramirez is an infamous serial murderer who terrorized Los Angeles, California in 1985. The media gave him the name the â€Å"Night Stalker† when he was on his vicious rampage of forcing himself into the homes of his victims late at night and committing his heinous crimes. Though he was only convicted of thirteen murders, he had many more victims. His crimes were so random, disorganized, and impulsive that the law enforcement officials of Los Angeles had no luck finding Ramirez for monthsRead MoreDuring his teenage years, Ramirez committed a staggering amount of misdemeanors and felonies that2000 Words   |  8 Pages During his teenage years, Ramirez committed a staggering amount of misdemeanors and felonies that consisted of possession, breaking and entering, theft, and auto theft. Once the teenager grew into his adult years, he still performed misdemeanors; however, the felonies became more deadly and sadistic. Around 28 victims unfortunately encountered him. S ome of the people from the 28 experienced horrible events, but they were able to live through his discretion. However, thirteen to fourteen other

The Vampire Diaries The Awakening Chapter One Free Essays

â€Å"Are you having a good time?† Elena asked. I am now . Stefan didn’t say it, but Elena knew it was what he was thinking. We will write a custom essay sample on The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter One or any similar topic only for you Order Now She could see it in the way he stared at her. She had never been so sure of her power. Except that actually he didn’t look as if he were having a good time; he looked stricken, in pain, as if he couldn’t take one more minute of this. The band was starting up, a slow dance. He was still staring at her, drinking her in. Those green eyes darkening, going black with desire. She had the sudden feeling that he might jerk her to him and kiss her hard, without ever saying a word. â€Å"Would you like to dance?† she said softly. I’m playing with fire, with something I don’t understand, she thought suddenly. And in that instant she realized that she was frightened. Her heart began to pound violently. It was as if those green eyes spoke to some part of her that was buried deep beneath the surface-and that part was screaming â€Å"danger† at her. Some instinct older than civilization was telling her to run, to flee. She didn’t move. The Awakening Chapter One September 4 Dear Diary, Something awful is going to happen today. I don’t know why I wrote that. It’s crazy. There’sno reason for me to be upset and every reason for me to be happy, but†¦ But here I am at 5:30 in the morning, awake and scared. I keep telling myself it’s just that I’m all messed up from the time difference between France and here. But that doesn’t explain why I feel so scared. So lost. The day before yesterday, while Aunt Judith and Margaret and I were driving back from the airport, I had such a strange feeling. When we turned onto our street I suddenly thought, â€Å"Mom and Dad are waiting for us at home. I bet they’ll be on the front porch or in the living room looking out the window. They must have missed me so much.† I know. That sounds totally crazy. But even when I saw the house and the empty front porch I still felt that way. I ran up the steps and I tried the door and knocked with the knocker. And when Aunt Judith unlocked the door I burst inside and just stood in the hallway listening, expecting to hear Mom coming down the stairs or Dad calling from the den. Just then Aunt Judith let a suitcase crash down on the floor behind me and sighed a huge sigh and said, â€Å"We’re home.† And Margaret laughed. And the most horrible feeling I’ve ever felt in my life came over me. I’ve never felt so utterly and completely lost. Home. I’m home. Why does that sound like a he? I was born here in Fell’s Church. I’ve always lived in this house, always. This is my same old bedroom, with the scorch mark on the floorboards where Caroline and I tried to sneak cigarettes in 5th grade and nearly choked ourselves. I can look out the window and see the big quince tree Matt and the guys climbed up to crash my birthday slumber party two years ago. This is my bed, my chair, my dresser. But right now everything looks strange to me, as if I don’t belong here. It’s me that’s out of place. And the worst thing is that I feel there’s somewhere I do belong, but I just can’t find it. I was too tired yesterday to go to Orientation. Meredith picked up my schedule for me, but I didn’t feel like talking to her on the phone. Aunt Judith told everyone who called that I had jet lag and was sleeping, but she watched me at dinner with a funny look on her face. I’ve got to see the crowd today, though. We’re supposed to meet in the parking lot before school. Is that why I’m scared? Am I frightened of them? Elena Gilbert stopped writing. She stared at the last line she had written and then shook her head, pen hovering over the small book with the blue velvet cover. Then, with a sudden gesture, she lifted her head and threw pen and book at the big bay window, where they bounced off harmlessly and landed on the upholstered window seat. It was all so completely ridiculous. Since when had she, Elena Gilbert, been scared of meeting people? Since when had she been scared of anything ? She stood up and angrily thrust her arms into a red silk kimono. She didn’t even glance at the elaborate Victorian mirror above the cherrywood dresser; she knew what she’d see. Elena Gilbert, cool and blond and slender, the fashion trendsetter, the high school senior, the girl every boy wanted and every girl wanted to be. Who just now had an unaccustomed scowl on her face and a pinch to her mouth. A hot bath and some coffee and I’ll calm down, she thought. The morning ritual of washing and dressing was soothing, and she dawdled over it, sorting through her new outfits from Paris. She finally chose a pale rose top and white linen shorts combo that made her look like a raspberry sundae. Good enough to eat, she thought, and the mirror showed a girl with a secret smile. Her earlier fears had melted away, forgotten. â€Å"Elena! Where are you? You’re going to be late for school!† The voice drifted faintly up from below. Elena ran the brush one more time through silky hair and pulled it back with a deep rose ribbon. Then she grabbed her backpack and went down the stairs. In the kitchen, four-year-old Margaret was eating cereal at the kitchen table, and Aunt Judith was burning something on the stove. Aunt Judith was the sort of woman who always looked vaguely flustered; she had a thin, mild face and light flyaway hair pushed back untidily. Elena landed a peck on her cheek. â€Å"Good morning, everybody. Sorry I don’t have time for breakfast.† â€Å"But, Elena, you can’t just go off without eating. You need your protein-† â€Å"I’ll get a doughnut before school,† said Elena briskly. She dropped a kiss on Margaret’s tow head and turned to go. â€Å"But, Elena-† â€Å"And I’ll probably go home with Bonnie or Meredith after school, so don’t wait dinner. Bye!† â€Å"Elena-† Elena was already at the front door. She closed it behind her, cutting off Aunt Judith’s distant protests, and stepped out onto the front porch. And stopped. All the bad feelings of the morning rushed over her again. The anxiety, the fear. And the certainty that something terrible was about to happen. Maple Street was deserted. The tall Victorian houses looked strange and silent, as if they might all be empty inside, like the houses on an abandoned movie set. They looked as if they were empty ofpeople , but full of strange watching things. That was it; something was watching her. The sky overhead was not blue but milky and opaque, like a giant bowl turned upside down. The air was stifling, and Elena felt sure that there were eyes on her. She caught sight of something dark in the branches of the old quince tree in front of the house. It was a crow, sitting as still as the yellow-tinged leaves around it. And it was the thing watching her. She tried to tell herself that this was ridiculous, but somehow she knew . It was the biggest crow she had ever seen, plump and sleek, with rainbows shining in its black feathers. She could see every detail of it clearly: the greedy dark claws, the sharp beak, the single glittering black eye. It was so motionless that it might have been a wax model of a bird sitting there. But as she stared at it, Elena felt herself flush slowly, heat coming in waves up her throat and cheeks. Because it was†¦ looking at her. Looking the way boys looked at her when she wore a bathing suit or a sheer blouse. As if it were undressing her with its eyes. Before she realized what she was doing, she had dropped her backpack and picked up a stone from beside the driveway. â€Å"Get out of here,† she said, and heard the shaking anger in her own voice. â€Å"Go on! Getaway !† With the last word, she threw the stone. There was an explosion of leaves, but the crow soared up unharmed. Its wings were huge, and they made enough racket for a whole flock of crows. Elena crouched, suddenly panicked as it flapped directly over her head, the wind of its wings ruffling her blond hair. But it swooped up again and circled, a black silhouette against the paper-white sky. Then, with one harsh croak, it wheeled away toward the woods. Elena straightened up slowly, then glanced around, self-conscious. She couldn’t believe what she had just done. But now that the bird was gone, the sky felt ordinary again. A little wind made the leaves flutter, and Elena took a deep breath. Down the street a door opened and several children poured out, laughing. She smiled at them, and took another breath, relief sweeping through her like sunlight. How could she have been so silly? This was a beautiful day, full of promise, and nothing bad was going to happen. Nothing bad was going to happen-except that she was going to be late getting to school. The whole crowd would be waiting for her in the parking lot. You could always tell everyone you stopped to throw stones at a Peeping Tom, she thought, and almost giggled. Now,that would give them something to think about. Without a backward glance at the quince tree, she began to walk as quickly as she could down the street. The crow crashed through the top of the massive oak, and Stefan’s head jerked up reflexively. When he saw it was only a bird, he relaxed. His eyes dropped to the limp white form in his hands, and he felt his face twist in regret. He hadn’t meant to kill it. He would have hunted something larger than a rabbit if he’d known how hungry he was. But, of course, that was the very thing that frightened him: never knowing how strong the hunger would be, or what he might have to do to satisfy it. He was lucky that this time he’d killed only a rabbit. He stood beneath the ancient oak trees, sunlight filtering down onto his curly hair. In jeans and T-shirt, Stefan Salvatore looked exactly like a normal high school student. He wasn’t. Deep in the woods, where no one would see him, he’d come to feed. Now he licked at his gums and lips painstakingly, to make sure there was no stain on them. He didn’t want to take any chances. This masquerade was going to be hard enough to pull off as it was. For a moment he wondered, again, if he should just give it all up. Perhaps he should go back to Italy, back to his hiding place. What made him think that he could rejoin the world of daylight? But he was tired of living in shadows. He was tired of the darkness, and of the things that lived in it. Most of all, he was tired of being alone. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen Fell’s Church, Virginia. It was a young town, by his standards; the oldest buildings had been put up only a century and a half ago. But memories and ghosts of the Civil War still lived here, as real as the supermarkets and fast-food joints. Stefan appreciated respect for the past. He thought he might come to like the people of Fell’s Church. And perhaps-just perhaps-he might find a place among them. He’d never be accepted completely, of course. A bitter smile curved his lips at the idea. He knew better than to hope forthat . There would never be a place where he could belong completely, where he could truly be himself. Unless he chose to belong to the shadows†¦ He slapped the thought away. He’d renounced the darkness; he’d left the shadows behind him. He was blotting all those long years out and starting afresh, today. Stefan realized he was still holding the rabbit. Gently, he laid it down on the bed of brown oak leaves. Far away, too far for human ears to pick up, he recognized the noises of a fox. Come along, brother hunter, he thought sadly. Your breakfast is waiting. As he slung his jacket over his shoulder, he noticed the crow that had disturbed him earlier. It was still perched in the oak tree, and it seemed to be watching him. There was a wrongness about it. He started to send a probing thought toward it, to examine the bird, and stopped himself. Remember your promise, he thought. You don’t use the Powers unless it is absolutely necessary. Not unless there is no other choice. Moving almost silently among the dead leaves and dry twigs, he made his way toward the edge of the woods. His car was parked there. He glanced back, once, and saw that the crow had left the branches and dropped down on the rabbit. There was something sinister in the way it spread its wings over the limp white body, something sinister and triumphant. Stefan’s throat tightened, and he almost strode back to chase the bird away. Still, it had as much right to eat as the fox did, he told himself. As much right as he did. If he encountered the bird again, he’d look into its mind, he decided. Just now, he tore his eyes from the sight of it and hurried on through the woods, jaw set. He didn’t want to be late arriving at Robert E. Lee High School. How to cite The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter One, Essay examples

Euthanasia Essay Example For Students

Euthanasia Essay Euthanasia Euthanasia: killing the dying. Its OK isnt it?Euthanasia is the intentional killing of a person, for compassionate motives, whether the killing is by a direct action, such as a lethal injection, or by failing to perform an action necessary to maintain life euthanasia to occur, there must be an intention to kill. The most common suggestion is for voluntary (or active) euthanasia, where the person asks to be killed. Although those who advocate euthanasia do not like the use of the word kill, it is the only accurate, non-emotional word to describe the reality, and it is the word which the law uses. Assisted suicide is also now being proposed, where a person would be provided with the means of committing suicide, and wouldthen himself or herself perform the act Less commonly discussed is involuntary euthanasia. This concerns the killing of persons who cannot express their wishes because of immaturity (such as a new- born infant), mental retardation or coma. Here others decide that that person would be better off dead. By current law, all forms of ethane what is so-called passive euthanasia?This term causes unnecessary confusion because it refers to actions, which are not any kind of euthanasia. They are: (a) the ceasing of medical treatment which is unwanted, or is imposing excessive burdens on the patient, or is incapable of providing anyBenefit, or (b) the use of drugs in necessarily large doses to relieve very severe pain, though such doses may endanger life. Medical actions intended to relieve suffering are ethical and lawful, as are the withdrawal of treatments, which are only unnecessarily prolonging dying. Though the patient may later die of his terminal illness and though such death was foreseen, death was neither intended nor caused by what was done. To describe these practices as euthanasia is misguided when it is mistaken or mischievous when it is used deliberately to confuse active killing with good medical practice. It is extremely important to understand the difference between killing and letting die, when the person has expressed a preference to die, but it is a difficult concept for some, and can give rise to confusion. Asia are murder and assisting suicide is a criminal offence. When life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn for the reasons listed earlier, wh ere the intention is to relieve suffering, the natural course of the underlying illness, which had been temporarily stayed, is thus allowed to run. If the diagnosis is correct, death will then result from this illness which was always going to be the eventual unavoidable cause, and this cause is recorded on the deathcertificate. Until death occurs, every means of providing comfort must be maintained. Euthanasia is different in its nature and its intention. Death is now the sole intended and the sole possible outcome, and is not due to any natural cause, even in those with terminal illness. It is chemically induced so that a new and otherwise impossible cause of death has been substituted for the one which was to be expected. From both the ethical and legal viewpoints, making a person die is different from letting a person die when it is medically proper to do so. If the death certificate is honestly completed, it will tell the story. Even the nature of the persons request is differe nt; one risk death, and the other seeks it. Prescribing for death would be unlike any other medical action. Euthanasia has usually been proposed only for those with terminal illness with severe suffering, but more recently the concept has been extended to include persons who wish to die for some relatively trivial social reason, such as being tired of life. The challenge of euthanasia is moral: Can it ever be right to kill an innocent person? In the light of what follows, the questionbecomes, more starkly, Can it be right to kill such persons unnecessarily? Is there a real need for euthanasia? Those who care full-time for the dying rarely encounter a request to be killed, and when they do, it is almost always associated with depression or an intractable social problem. The advocates of euthanasia give the impression that there is a geat need for it, but they never provide any evidence to support this view. The reasonable conclusion is that when dying persons are well cared for, they have no need to ask to be killed. In that case, to introduce euthanasia would be doubly tragic, because it would be both inhumane and unnecessary. Because it is not widely known that modern care of the dying, called palliative care, can now effectively relieve almost all severe pain and significantly relieve emotional distress. Both those who wish to relieve distress by appropriate care and those who propose killing through ignorance are motivated by compassion. But there are enormous differences in the two approaches, involving morality, medicine, the law and the good of society. Euthanasia is said to be an expression of such things as death with dignity, the right to die, autonomy and so on. For the most part,these are used as slogans, without understanding their true meanings. Dying persons are treated with true dignity when their genuine needs are met by providing effective, loving care which values the worth of every fellow human, in distress or not. Although a right to die is claimed, what is meant instead is a right to be killed. There has never been a right to be killed in any code of ethics. It is a spurious concept, and no argument is ever made to support it. The right to respect for ones autonomy(self-determination) is different, in that it is a genuine human right, but one which is often misunderstood. In the context of euthanasia, it is implied that a persons wish to die must be so respected as to give it power to bind others to act. That is bothsimplistic and wrong, since nobody may have anything in life just because he or she asks for it, no matter how sincerely. Since there is no right to be killed, others are not required to kill, nor should they do so. Current law recognises the right of every mentally competent person to refuse unwanted medical treatment, but not the right to take ones own life. In fact, everyone is legally empowered to prevent attempted suicide. Thus, the lives of all innocent persons are protected. Confusion may arise fro m the fact that attempting suicide is not a criminal act, but assisting suicide is. The reason is because the law recognises that attempting suicide is very often the outcome of mental illness, and that when an attempt fails, the person needs care rather than punishment. Although it is sometimes implied that a change in the law to allow euthanasia would be a small one, it would in fact entail a massive shift in our legal concepts of intent, responsibility and causation. It would single out a particular group of vulnerable individuals, the sick, for discriminatory action. No law to legalise euthanasia has been made in any country because no proposal has been devised which was free of the likely, not just the possible, risk of abuse. The supporters of euthanasia offer no suggestions to overcome this problem. Some of them admit that a safe law would probably not be possible, and it must be said that this is realistic. Who would do the killing? Without reflection, it is usually assumed that doctors would, despite that they have not been asked, and that every medical association in the world forbids euthanasia as being unethical. It would be disastrous for the medical profession to be involved in any way with legalised euthanasia. There could be no argument to support their participation as part of their work, and in many ways the doctor/patient relationship would be severely damaged. Doctors prescribe medicine, not poison. They heal and cure, but they may not intentionally kill. If euthanasia were available, motivation for difficult patient care and for the seeking of advances in medical science would be lessened. If not doctors, who? Seeking an answer to this question would involve the community in a great deal of useful soul-searching, as it would have to focus on the grim realities of the proposal. At present, it can hide from the unpleasant facts, while it pretends that it would be a simple clinical exercise, done by someone else in a white coat, out of sight. Would you like to do it? Euthanasia is widely practised in Holland, despite that it is by law a criminal offence. It is cited as an example of social progress, which we in Australia should consider. We are told that it is subject to safe, established guidelines, and that it has an agreed moral basis. Indeed, we should consider it, but only because it is a disaster we must not copy. Only in September 1991 did the official picture come to hand, supplied by Dutch government sources. We now know that intentional death is brought about by Dutch doctors in about one fifth of the deaths in the country; in over twothirds of cases, the death certificate is falsified after euthanasia to make it seem that the death was due to natural causes. The doctor suffers no penalty for this, and it is not known whether or not any guidelines were followed at all; where information isAvailable about guidelines, they are known to be widely disregarded; just over one quarter of the doctors admitted they had killed patients without any request at all, though the Dutch Medical Society correctly defines this as murder; in some of those, not even the family was told what was happening; the authorities admit they have no control over euthanasia, and finally, there is no consensus within Holland about the moral, medical, legal or social bases for euthanasia though it has been commonly performed for almost 20 years. Against Abortion Essay