Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia is a topic that has returned for debate and will continue to do so. However the voices of those who are directly affected haven’t been heard with as much volume. Medicine and science have evolved to what some may say an alarming rate. Abortion, IVF, Cloning and GM products for example have now taken a some what acceptable position within today’s society. Acceptable in the sense that it is happening and laws are in place. What makes Assisted Suicide or Aid in Dying, the preferable term for many and reserved for the terminally ill, so different?
The topic is usually met with confusion or immediate opposition for numerous reasons which may include Britain’s Christian/Catholic infrastructure and the likelihood that many are unable to put themselves in another person’s shoes. I also think the Existentialist notion that we all have death anxiety, is an important thought to acknowledge and one that can and should be included in future debates.
When an animal is ill “putting it down” to avoid further suffering is viewed as humane, yet the same view is absent to the terminally ill sufferer who has expressed a wish to die. Not wanting to play God springs to mind, though isn’t this already happening with the deciphering of DNA, Cloning and even doctors giving patients an estimation of how long they have to live?
An alternative perspective from other religions is missing and would be beneficial to highlight. Spiritualists for example believe that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience, as a result death is seen as a release from the body, the end of an experience/journey and not the terrible end of life. This is my belief system and one which makes sense to me though I respect other views. Either way terminally ill patients pro aid in dying, need to tell their story and those that judge need to try and see it from the sufferer’s point of view. If you had a debilitating disease what would you want to do? Now imagine that right being taken away from you on the basis of shaky moral high ground. At the end of the day it is the sufferer that has to live with the condition and feelings, so surely the rights should remain with the individual.
I personally think that the time has come to look at different views in order to help create a different world. For this to happen effectively I feel we need to incorporate spirit into mind and body, as it is lacking in all current medical conversations within the western world.
© 2010 Lisa Bent
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