Many rationalizations have been proposed for the euthanasia of persons with severe handicaps. Those that are most convincing appeal to the alleged good to handicapped individuals of being allowed to die. This article examines two common rationalizations and presents arguments to refute them. The article calk for parents, professionals, and friends of persons with severe handicaps to be clear and vocal in refuting euthanasia and its rationales.
Mobs are really frightening. But is development toward participatory democracy in general simply motivated by fear - representing merely a series of propitiatory acts by such as school boards? Charles and Evelyn Lusthaus show how a number of parents reacted to being involved in a well-planned process of decision, applied by one Montreal school board to proposals for closure of altogether 27 of its schools (of which ultimately 12 remained open). Their differences in opinion about the results, between those who "won" and those who "lost" these decisions, were understandably marked. But about the merits of the process itself their differences were not strong; and it is interesting that the degree of their involvement in school committees and so on became much greater, particularly among those who lost. In these parents' evident acceptance of the channels thus made available to them, this study offers a point of contrast to others in this issue that deal with the organization of protest by parents. These parents seem to have acquired, for the short term at least, a confidence in their own participation in school management that would seem to justify certain hopes. RÉSUMÉ Les foules ont quelque chose de véritablement effrayant. Mais est-ce que l'évolution vers la démocratie "participative" n'est motivée que par la crainte, laquelle représente une série d'actes propitiatoires posé par les commissions scolaires? Charles et Evelyn Lusthaus démontrent la façon dont un certain nombre de parents ont réagi à leur participation à un processus décisionnel soigneusement planifié, appliqué par une commission scolaire de Montréal, au projet de fermer 27 de ses écoles dont 12 sont en fin de compte restées ouvertes. Les divergences d'opinion quant aux résultats, entre ceux qui ont "gagné" et ceux qui ont "perdu" ces décisions, étaient naturellement très nettes. Mais ces divergences n'étaient pas aussi marquées à propos des mérites du processus proprement dit; et il est intéressant de constater que le niveau de participation aux comités scolaires a considérablement augmenté, surtout chez ceux qui avaient "perdu". En ce qui concerne l'acceptation manifeste des voies offertes à ces parents, cette étude contraste nettement avec d'autres études publiées dans ce numéro traitant de l'organisation de mouvements de protestation par les parents. Ces parents semblent avoir acquis, pour quelque temps du moins, une certaine confiance dans leur participation à la gestion des écoles, laquelle semble justifier certains espoirs.
