"'Me Before You' perpetuates idea that the disabled should consider suicide"

Chicago Tribune:  As press reports show, some people with disabilities have already begun to protest the new movie, "Me Before You," which opens Friday in the U.S. The primary objection concerns the essential plot point about which romantic partner's life counts for less, the young able-bodied woman's or the young and severely disabled man's. Guess who draws the short straw?

As a severely disabled man myself — I was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive neuromuscular weakness that renders me quadriplegic — I'm loath to give this movie any additional publicity. But the timing of the release could not be any more disturbing. Just a week after, on June 9, California's so-called Death with Dignity law takes effect. The repercussions of this ghoulish juxtaposition are positively frightening.

The law — styled after its predecessors in Oregon and Washington — permits physician-assisted suicide in the nation's most populous state, under strict regulatory controls. Nothing to worry about, supporters say. It applies only to those with terminal conditions who have been thoroughly evaluated by medical professionals.

I wish I could believe it. But all the safeguards in the world are nothing against the power of Hollywood to influence sentiments. (read more)