OD: Facts and compassion

Lori Miller’s August 19th letter “ODs: Let Them Die” is an affront to the principles of science, and to the compassion that we as human beings owe to one another.

First, Miller’s put forth a false dichotomy, arguing that scientists could either (a) choose to cure MS, or (b) make Narcan to “save drug addicts.”

Narcan is an opiate antagonist, meaning it’s chemically designed to “stop” the effects opiates are exhibiting on a person’s body. The chemical compound making up the drug has been known for close to fifty years. Most of the energy devoted to Narcan is in production, not research.

Compare that with multiple sclerosis, a disorder involving the relationship between the brain, the nerves, the spine, and the infinite complexity of the human body’s communication systems. Curing MS, if it ever happens, will be one of the great scientific feats in human history. Narcan manufacturing is simply irrelevant to that end coming about.

Second, Ms. Miller’s vitriol reveals her ignorance of how addiction works. Opiate addiction is often not a choice. Doctors for years weaned individuals onto these drugs seeking to treat chronic pain and suffering.

None of us could reasonably reject a principle which permitted us to save a human life when it imposed no meaningful cost on others. And Narcan is a means for saving those lives that would otherwise be lost.

For our society to let them die would see us all fall short of our obligations to others.

BART HOOKS

Coeur d’Alene