Source: smh.com.au
'How to die' becoming as important a question as 'how to live'
October 7, 2010
Opinions are divided on whether euthanasia can be a rational choice.
Bob Brown's post-election call for a conscience vote on the territories' right to pass euthanasia laws has been criticised for being a distraction from issues that really matter to the average Australian.
But such criticism misses the likelihood that the 21st century may well be the one where ''how to die'' becomes as important a question as ''how to live''.
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Advances in medical care have transformed our relationship to dying. Medical technology will continue to blur what we mean by death and its relation to our lives, foreshadowed by extraordinary cases such as 41-year-old American Terri Schiavo, who was in a vegetative state for more than 15 years. A prolonged legal and political battle eventually led to the stopping of tube feeding in 2005, and her death.
A much less publicised case was played out in Australia in 2003. The New South Wales Supreme Court ruled that treatment could be withdrawn from Isaac Messiha, a 75-year-old man whose life was supported by ventilation and tube feeding after he suffered severe brain damage from a stroke.
It is a difficult discussion to have in a society that has so little exposure to death and dying in comparison with previous generations. The average young Australian may face death only through their pets or when they travel to other parts of the world, especially countries with Hindu traditions where bodies are sometimes cremated on the street.
Half of all deaths now occur in hospitals, three times the rate of 20 years ago. Several colleagues of mine working in intensive care complain that their job is increasingly about prolonging vegetative states and delaying inevitable death.
The greatest proportion of health costs is in the period surrounding death. Much of it is consumed by machines plugged into electrical outlets - respirators, feeding tubes and defibrillators. The longer we live, the longer we take to die.
Excellent write-up!
ReplyDelete"Culture of Death" in America today for the average citizen. Read: "How To Make Money By Killing Them Softly".
Father ended up in hospital after bad hit by 'influenza syndrome' at age 86. His Will very specific stipulated not to keep him on ANY life-prolonging "devices" nor meds. Over-ruled by siblings. They followed the doc and hospital advice which went directly against Fathers' wishes per his Will.
The medical staff followed their orders soaking his medical insurance dry by pumping pharms in him-- (he avoided pharm drugs his entire life), along with using undignified procedures on him that he strictly forbade in his will. His passing was not in the manner which he'd stipulated in his will. His wishes and "Right to pass on with compassionate dignity and integrity" fell on deaf ears, self-righteous ignorance ie: indifference-- and padlocked hearts.
From my own research I discovered an ominous "trend" in the states here regarding general elderly care today that causes me grave concern. The elderly or "non-productive" are treated like a cow's teats! Squeeze em hard. Great for the sucking machine's CASH flow.
I had my share of experiencing dying process of loved ones at early age. Back then medical establishment still retained sense of compassionate dignity toward their wards. This is not so today. That is, at least for those who cannot afford an exceptional lawyer!