Posted on 03/14/2009 10:16:20 AM PDT by wagglebee
Whenever the debate over euthanasia arises, I wonder whether opponents of assisted suicide have ever seen a loved one battle a terminal disease. Written descriptions fall flat in comparison to actually watching a person die in front of you — watching as her body thins and her eyes shrink and recede. You see a face become nothing more than pronounced cheekbones and a receding hairline. It’s difficult to watch; it must be almost unbearable to experience.
The reason I wonder whether critics have ever experienced such a tragic situation is that their arguments often come off as juvenile. Kevin Smith, the executive director of a New Hampshire-based conservative think tank, was recently quoted in The Dartmouth as saying, “Doctors are there to do good … They’re there to help people, not to put people to death” (“Assisted suicide bill proposed,” Feb. 27). Ideally, doctors would not be responsible for ending lives, but this is not an ideal world. Indeed, terminal diseases are about as far from ideal as you can get, and it is both crude and unproductive to frame the euthanasia debate in terms of “good” and “bad” actions. The argument is far more complex than such vague and simple terms.
I’ve frequently heard from critics of assisted suicide that patients could still take their lives without the help of doctors. They contend that such a brutal practice does not need to be legitimized or institutionalized. But this argument seems odd to me, especially considering how much these critics profess to value human life. Having a terminally ill family member choose to end his life is a horrific situation that I hope I never have to experience. But the misery of the situation would only be compounded if that family member’s attempt to end his life had to be messy — or worse yet, was unsuccessful. To push an already hopeless person to something as shameful as overdosing on painkillers and leaving a suicide note seems to connote the ultimate disrespect for human life.
It’s true that medical breakthroughs can occur seemingly overnight. A patient who was hopelessly terminal may wake up to a scientific miracle and be cured. But it’s inhumane and cruel to prolong a person’s agony because of the minute chance that a cure is on the horizon. Along the same lines, critics of euthanasia often cite the Hippocratic Oath — which implicitly prohibits euthanasia — as a reason for proscribing assisted suicide. Perhaps, however, we should reevaluate how strictly we follow a creed that was written over 2000 years ago. If assisted suicide is morally wrong, we should arrive at that conclusion on our own.
For me, the most offensive criticism of assisted suicide is the argument that says euthanasia devalues human life. What bothers me about this claim is that it’s laden with misguided value judgments. It suggests that those who choose to die are cowardly — that they’re taking the easy way out and demeaning the value of their own lives in the process. It’s easy to offer platitudes about the theoretical value of life. It’s far more difficult to be so self-righteous when one is sitting in a hospice bed, having endured months of unbearable pain. If anything, those who choose to die affirm the value of their lives by demanding that these lives mean more than just a breathing tube and a morphine-induced stupor. Terminal patients who choose to die want to be remembered as something more than a semi-conscious skeleton.
Death is tragic, traumatic and uncomfortable to talk about, and it becomes even more difficult to address when we feel that a person is choosing to end his life prematurely. Still, to say that euthanasia demeans a person is just inaccurate. Those patients who choose to take their lives refuse to buy “honor” at the price of physical destruction and emotional trauma; nothing could be a more positive affirmation of life’s value. Assisted suicide is fortunately something that most of us will never have to consider. Still, we should hesitate to offer moral judgments about people whose situations are unfathomable, and above all, we should avoid reducing the discussion to naïve conceptions of “good” and “bad.”
Living organisms are programmed for survival. If they find themselves with no food, etc - there are mechanisms that kick in to prolong the life of the organism until it can acquire what it needs to keep living. It is the law of the universe - things go on as long as they can. It is what keeps order in the universe.
I've watched people I love die from terminal diseases - it is horrible to watch. But every one of them had a choice in how they wanted their lives to end. My grandfather knew he was dying & had time to call us all in individually and talk heart to heart with us - I will cherish that conversation forever. He was not afraid to die, he was ready to meet his maker when the time was to come - and he reconciled himself to bearing the pain until the end. He was a strong man that had a lot of pride.
My mother-in-law refused treatments that would have prolonged her life at the end - she was in a lot of pain, but it was the way she chose to go. We had wonderful conversations during the end of her life & I learned so much from watching her endure her tribulations with grace and dignity.
Doctors pledge to keep life going - they should never pledge to end it. There are ways - a doctor could give the patient a prescription for something with the caveat "This is to help you sleep/ease pain/etc - if you take too many - it will kill you". This gives the patient options for choosing how they want to deal with the end of their lives.
This is just a way for these people to get their foot in the door - to a place where we let institutions decide who can live and die. Abortion was the first step.
I look at the example Jesus Christ set for us when he was on the cross. He had many opportunities to cut his suffering short - but he endured it to the very end. I think that we are put on this earth to learn certain lessons. Sooner or later, we will all die & although it may be hard for some people to fathom - I think it is a sort of "gift" to be able to know when your time will be ending - it gives you a chance to put your affairs in order & make peace with the people you love, have hurt & to make peace with yourself.
I don't want a doctor, the government, or any other institution making this decision for me. Let's not make this a formal procedure - let's not open that door. Just give me the means to make that very personal choice by myself.
True, i feel more way more sorry for people who die suddenly. No chance to talk to anyone. No chance to get square with God or others if you need to, etc.
Even though this sounds bad, a slower death is better. And if you suffer some, even for a year, so what? You’ll have an eternity to feel comfortable.
Maybe thats the Marine in me,,now i think its natural to endure misery! (maybe they did brainwash us after all,,)
True but initially brought on by his pain and suffering.
Very well said.
If one subscribes to the culture of death's logic, Hitler "died with dignity", but Jesus Christ did not.
"Dignity" is part of a person's character, you DO NOT acquire it by appearing dignified. Death almost never appears dignified, but dignified people die with dignity every day. The truest form of dignity is accepting God's Will.
So right. There be method to their madness.
We kill off our past, by killing the old. We kill off our future, by killing the unborn. And all we are left with is the selfish me. - Father Richard Ho Lung, Missionaries of the Poor
My stepfather --a saint if I ever knew one-- did the same.
An excellent phrase! Might just be paraphrased on a bumpersticker soon.
I sat and held my father’s hand as he died. He was in no pain and died at home. Putting him down like a dog would have been the most undignified thing I can imagine. With modern pain killers there is no reason anyone approaching death need suffer.
My Pappaw had been a “wild buck” in his day, he ran moonshine in his youth & was quite a ladies man at one time, even after he was married to my grandmother. He put a lot of hurt on his family until the day he got saved.
After that, he was a changed man & devoted the rest of life to taking care of his family in every way he could. When we had our last talk, he told me that the Lord had forgiven him for his past sins and that he had a conviction in his heart about it - he no longer “kicked himself” over his past mistakes. He said he wasn’t afraid, he knew he was going to a better place. He impressed on me the power of forgiveness.
About a year after he died - I had a dream one night. I dreamed I was at work & my Pappaw came in the room, dressed in his usual outfit of overalls and work shoes - but everything he was wearing was snow-white. I was crying with joy & ran to him saying “Pappaw, what are you doing here?”
He said, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing just fine”.
That dream made me so happy & I truly feel in my heart that it was a message to me from him - to let me know that he was “just fine”.
The only reason this is an issue (in my opinion) is because very few people care for their elderly family members any more and do not understand or want to deal with the issues of aging and dying. When the old folks become a problem most are placed in nursing homes and few family members even visit regularly after that. It is a whole lot easier to make the decision of “letting one die” than it would be if they had a relationship built from caring for them on a daily basis. Those same family members don’t have the hands on care experience to know what is right and what isn’t when their family member is dying.
I was raised to understand that illness, injury, and death were all a part of life. I was not sheltered when pets and later family members were ill, injured, or dying. It was not something to fear- or “take care” of and instead was a natural part of life and accepted that way. I am different that many conservatives in that I do believe in the concept of assisted suicide- on a very limited and case by case basis- just as I would put down a suffering animal if I could not do anything to end the suffering. However, I don’t believe in legalizing assisted suicide or supporting it for one reason- I don’t trust the judgement of most folks to know the rare circumstance when it might possibly be appropriate. Not for me or any of my family and I think it is just a decision left best up to God for that reason alone. There is an issue of evil and some folks are plain evil and what would stop them from being in the position to make that kind of decision? Most people are just not epuipped to make that decision because issues of convenience and money can not be kept out of the equation and I know legalizing the right to die is a slippery slope to an obligation to die.
I have cared for elderly family up until their death- my mother died of breast cancer that went through her chest wall and became lung cancer- according to her doctor a very painful way to die. Yet her doctor (God bless him) was willing to prescribe enough pain killer in large amounts and she did not suffer. She was not always comfortable- but never suffered. I was honored to spend her last days and weeks caring for her, and we talked of many things- but mostly family history that I would never have known if I had not cared for her then. There were things she had forgotten about her childhood and family that somehow came back to her clearly- as if she was reliving them and I learned so many things about her during that stage. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world. I had similiar experience with my dad who died from emphasema.
If more people were not sheltered from the dying process as they are in modern society this would not be as big of an issue as it is today. I think more would understand that quality of life is different depending on circumstances and what we are willing or able to handle will change with our life stages. It is easy for a 20 year old to say- “I would never want to live like that” about many conditions that we would be more than happy to endure at the end stage of life. Perspective is everything and the problem is lack of perspective when talking about quality of life.
The fact is that you usually spend HALF of you entire life's medical expenses in the last year of life. If I'd rather give that money to my spouse or children rather than prolonging my misery, is that wrong?
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Lord Jesus, you healed so many people during your public ministry. I bring before you now, in prayer, all those who are terminally ill -- those afflicted with cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses.
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Look lovingly and compassionately upon them. Let them feel the strength of your consolation. Help them and their families to accept this cross they are asked to carry. Protect them from euthanasia, Lord.
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Let them see you carrying their cross with them, at their side, as you once carried yours to Calvary. May Mary be there, too, to comfort them.
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Lord Jesus, I know and believe that, if it is your will, you can cure those I pray for (especially N.). I place my trust in you. I pray with faith, but I also pray as you did in Gethsemane: your will be done.
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Bless us, Lord, and hear my prayer. Amen.
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| Reprinted from "Queen of Apostles Prayerbook" with permission of copyright holder, Pauline Books & Media, |
We must extract concepts of good and bad, morals, and values from any discussion involving good and bad, morals, and values. The left is incapable of understanding such things, so it’s unfair for us to allow them into the conversation. We must keep a level playing field, at the least common denominator. Keep it free of anything that is good and right, so the left can have equal footing in the conversation. While we’re at it, we must eliminate anything that requires a double digit IQ to comprehend it. Keep it dumb and evil, so we won’t have an unfair advantage over the harpies of the world.
That’s a very insightful post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
We've been there and done that.
Rest in peace, Flyer.
Requiescat in pace
RIP Flyer.
This is part of what hospice does. A person is within their rights to refuse medical care. Palliative pain treatment is not expensive at all.
I agree with that.
If it comes to that, give me pain pills and let me go.
Do not spend thousand or millions to prolong the inevitable. That makes no sense unless it’s coming out of my own pocket.
And then it still wouldn’t make much sense.
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