So, I browsed through my twitter feed today (@mellyboredom if anyone is interested), and I found this interesting little article on the Huffington Post: Right To Assisted Suicide. The article is actually taken from CBC and goes on to say that Gloria Taylor, who has ALS has won the right to have help ending her life should she chose to do so. This is a wonderful ruling.
I know that there are many many people who disagree with suicide and disagree especially with assisted suicide, and I am okay with that. To them I say: then you don't do it. It's pretty simple. I realize that for whatever reason automatically linking assisted suicide to murder is the way to go, but murder is when someone doesn't have the choice. And I also realize that when people have a medical POA do they get the right to then decide when that person has "suffered enough"? Those are all good questions, and I will not deny that there are some grey areas that we still need to look at (or not since grey areas are what make life, life), but for right now, I think allowing someone the right to end their own life, and the right to have someone help her do that if she chooses to do that is good.
In cases like ALS and end stage illnesses, people who are suffering pain that we don't even let our animals go through, should be allowed to ask for help, or state ahead of time that if they wish to die or not. (Dr's also, should have the right to say no, but I really don't think that this is something that will come up too much to be honest.) As a society we hold life as the most precious thing, and it might be, I don't have all those answers, but when you are in unbearable pain 25/24 hours of the day, why should anyone have to live through that if they do not wish to? Is that really living? What pain is appropriate when it comes to helping someone end their life? Again, I don't have the answers.
I like that we're talking about it. I like that the courts agree that it needs to be looked at again. I like that we're are having serious thoughts to what "quality of life" really means.
OOo, this is a good topic.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at how against people are at the mere thought of someone choosing to end their suffering. And how harshly someone is judged because they want to "take the easy way". It saddens me.
While I know that it's not in the same line as a "terminal illness" but I think if people could see the suffering of some of the people with mental illnesses, the would not consider it the "easy way". Most people never consider someone wanting to end the pain of say, cancer, as taking the easy way. It's very frustrating.
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