Angela Wall : Hi. I liked this segment on assisted suicide. However I am from Switzerland and I was interested to learn which organization provided the suicide. There are two, Dignitas and Exit. It would be important for you to provide that kind of information. Thank you. Angela

E.A. Panus : Down with Downes! I find it tragically disturbing that for the past week all I hear is the media romanticizing and lionizing Downes and his wife and their "courageous" suicide (talk about an oxymoron...) To have lived such an incredibly rich life of prestige and privilege, surrounded daily by great art and artists and with unlimited opportunities to surround oneself with such beauty... well I find it nothing short of sheer, selfish cowardice! The millions of common folk who spend their entire life's in pain, poverty, hunger, despair and surrounded by ugliness (in the form of violence, neglect and deprivation, etc....)are the unseen, unmentioned, unacknowledged heroes on our planet! They courageously live their anonymous lives every day displaying quiet dignity, persverance and faith -- with little of the resources that the Downes had regular access to. What a message to send to those with cancer, blindness and deafness... oh to be in such control of one's own fate... to plan and carryout their own pathetic death. I am no longer moved nor inspired by his work! This action has forever underlined and highlighted his life and music with a puny, tinny and shallow clank!

Art Beat Editor : Hi Angela, Thanks so much for your question. The Downeses went to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich. We've also just posted an ITN video report that appeared on the NewsHour last night, which has more details.

John E. : I don't understand the reasoning or self-righteous indignation of your scold, Panus. Where's the heroism in living a beautiful, eminently productive life only to die a protracted, grisly death? We champion those who lead lives of self-determination and accomplishment. Why should such individuals be any less intent on determining the circumstances of their death? Who among the terminally suffering wouldn't wish to have a say in the matter...but, of course, as in most matters requiring empathy, it is others who do the shaming.