April 2, 1996: Euthanasia & Immigration - Open Lines

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.