April 2, 1996: Euthanasia & Immigration - Open Lines
Apr 2, 1996
2h 50m
0:00 / 0:00
Art Bell tackles two explosive stories shaping the national conversation in the spring of 1996. A federal appeals court in New York has ruled that the Constitution does not ban doctors from helping terminally ill patients die, a decision Art Bell predicts will rival Roe v. Wade when it reaches the Supreme Court. He shares deeply personal reflections on end-of-life suffering, recounting his wife's belief that painful death carries karmic significance.
The broadcast also addresses the videotaped beating of two suspected illegal immigrants by Riverside County sheriff's deputies following an hour-and-a-half high-speed chase. Art Bell condemns the excessive force while acknowledging the adrenaline and danger officers faced during the pursuit. He reiterates his longstanding call for a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the federal government has possessed the electronic detection technology to secure the border since Vietnam. A registered nurse calls with a disturbing account of doctors issuing a do-not-resuscitate order against the wishes of a conscious 35-year-old patient.
Art Bell announces the debut of the program's first international toll-free phone line, provided by AT&T, and takes a call from a woman in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, marking the new line's early international reach.
The broadcast also addresses the videotaped beating of two suspected illegal immigrants by Riverside County sheriff's deputies following an hour-and-a-half high-speed chase. Art Bell condemns the excessive force while acknowledging the adrenaline and danger officers faced during the pursuit. He reiterates his longstanding call for a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the federal government has possessed the electronic detection technology to secure the border since Vietnam. A registered nurse calls with a disturbing account of doctors issuing a do-not-resuscitate order against the wishes of a conscious 35-year-old patient.
Art Bell announces the debut of the program's first international toll-free phone line, provided by AT&T, and takes a call from a woman in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, marking the new line's early international reach.
Key Moments
Second Circuit: doctors have a right to help patients die: Art reads the New York federal appeals court ruling on the right to die, quoting the court: physicians do not fulfill the role of killer by prescribing drugs any more than they do by disconnecting life support. He calls it a constitutional right and notes the Catholic Church's pushback.
Bell predicts Roe v. Wade-scale Supreme Court fight: Art predicts the assisted-suicide question will reach the Supreme Court and rival Roe v. Wade in controversy, and bets the high court will uphold both the Washington and New York rulings legitimizing doctor-assisted suicide.