Letter: We have tools to help relieve suffering, so why not use them?

Mike O'Callaghan's column on pain management (July 3) was great but I'm hoping it's only the first in a series exploring the dark, dehumanizing American way of death.

The line that jumped out at me was the quote from Dr. Wesley J. Smith: "It is certainly true that far too much pain and suffering go unrelieved not because we can't provide relief but because we don't."

Well, why don't we? We have the tools, the knowledge and the ability to make the end game we all must face sooner or later at least tolerable, but we don't use them. Why not?

Why are so many people condemned to last days wracked with excruciating pain and misery? And what of the families that can only stand by and watch it happen? What institutions within our society defend the status quo when the status quo causes so much pain and heartache for so many?

This is a dark story that needs sunlight. I hope Mike will pursue it.

Knight Allen

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