The right to die
Should we have the right to decide when to die...? It is a question I ask myself many times and I know it is difficult to answer because it confronts us with ethical and moral issues and above all with our beliefs.
I was raised in a culture that believes in the existence of God, we think that human life is a Divine gift, therefore only the Creator has the right to decide when it ends.
And although I share that belief I have always wondered if it makes any sense to keep a body alive in conditions that only create suffering.
The science of our time has achieved true miracles. Not only is it capable of extending human life, but it has also created the conditions to recover from life-threatening situations.
Surgery and organ transplantation give a long time of life to people who would otherwise be dead.
To some extent science has taken the place of God and is able to postpone the imminence of death. We do not die by the Divine will but when the solutions offered by science reach their limits.
In the scientific vision, the important thing is to prolong life as long as possible, even if that means leaving people in situations of complete dependence and profound suffering.
This new reality has generated a great discussion about the right of people or their relatives to decide when it is time to end life.
Many of us think that it is absurd to keep a person alive when that situation only produces discomfort, when there is no possibility of reversing his or her suffering. It is a matter of limits that is not easy to establish. Until when is the limit to keep a body alive using the resources of science...?
I am one of those who think that we should set the limit ourselves. Everyone should have the right to decide up to when an illness, a disease, a condition is bearable. Everyone should have the right to say: Enough is enough... I don't want to continue with this suffering...!
The problem is really serious because it means a great paradigm shift for the predominant mentality in society and in science. It is about asking science to do the opposite, to use its resources not to prolong life but to end it. Many still do not accept this.
However, as it usually happens in the evolution of societies, once a debate is generated and a new perspective emerges, things begin to change, sometimes very slowly, but they change.
Today many societies are beginning to accept euthanasia without being shocked. They assume it as something necessary, humanitarian, even regulations are established to apply it.
But even with all the progress that has been made, the panorama is still not completely clear.
In many countries there is no problem in disconnecting a human life that has entered what is called brain death. But there are other more subtle situations where it is not easy for the authorities to yield to a request for euthanasia.
People condemned to suffer chronic pain, who have lost their autonomy, who are condemned to a life of prostration, are given the benefit of ending their life through euthanasia. They are denied the right to decide. Others decide to keep them alive even if they wish otherwise.
It is an issue that perhaps at some point we can look at more pragmatically.
A short time ago my father died after almost two years of suffering, he was about to turn ninety. The disease was prostrating him. At first he accepted with resignation and shame that he could not clean himself. As the days went by, his limbs became numb, and moving him meant terrible pain.
Often we would take him to the hospital burning with fever and on the verge of dehydration, apply something palliative and return home. At one point he asked us not to take him to the hospital anymore. He stopped eating. We would put some food and a few spoonfuls of water on his lips. He spent months in that state. In his lucid moments he only asked us to let him die, he didn't want to suffer any more. But neither my brother nor I decided to stop his medication.
If there had been the possibility of assisted death in my country, my father could have had a more dignified death without so much suffering. In his moments of unconsciousness I would hold his hand and ask myself, what sense could so much suffering have...I never found an answer....
I often think that I would not like to go on living if some illness or some accident left me incapacitated, afflicted with endless pain, condemned to be bedridden, without autonomy of any kind, totally dependent on someone's assistance, being a source of suffering for the people who have to take care of me. For me that would be a sufficient limit to request euthanasia, to receive an act of humanity.
This is my entry for the challenge 144 of the WEEKEND EXPERIENCES community.
Thank you for your time.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Logo creado por @themanualbot
This is interesting topic to ponder about. I used to think that we should have the right to die whenever and wherever but I think that it's only legal in a few countries. I mean, we come to this world without having more options, shouldn't we have options to choose when we leave? to me, it's not something coward if one decided that they don't really enjoy life and decided to choose to end it.
They are necessary discussions. I think that societies are understanding that deciding on the end of one's life should be a right. Maybe it will take some time for this to be accepted, but I think that in the end it will be accepted. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting dear @macchiata. A big hug from Maracay
Whether we accept it or not, death is just around the corner. From the very moment we are conceived, death is present. When, how, where, are paradigms.
No one wants to die, of course, we are taught from a very young age to appreciate life, we are even oriented as to which is the best way to live, but we are never taught to face death with dignity.
From my humble perspective, to live each day with such intensity, letting others live their own spaces.
t's like you say, we don't talk much about how to die. At some point it will be understood that we have the right to decide on that end. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting dear friend @amigoponc . A big hug from Maracay.
I am very sorry for the loss of your father in those conditions in which the body simply no longer gives, I wish that in our country euthanasia was legal and that he would have had the right to decide to leave calm and assisted.
As for asking the opposite of science, I believe that medicine partly has a vision backwards, it should be in favor of human well-being, not only to prolong life without well-being, that is why perhaps many people even decide not to. do chemotherapy for example because they feel worse with the treatment than with the disease 😞 is a great topic for debate
The day may come in our country when these decisions will be respected. Science has its limits and sometimes getting more time to live means going through many torments. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting, my dear @irenenavarroart . A big hug from Maracay.
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Thank you so much.
You've got this @irvinc! Keep putting in the effort and you'll reach your target in no time.
My dear @irvinc no body knows when he or she will be called by his creator. Even the science itself don't know.
You are right, no one knows. Sometimes I think that science interferes with those plans of the Creator. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting my dear @ogechukwu-martha . A big hug from Maracay.
Thanks my dear you are welcome
Oh my, that was really hard to go through. 💔 Indeed it is better to end our suffering faster if such a thing would happen to us.
I believe that prolonging suffering unnecessarily makes little sense. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting my dear @artgirl . A big hug from Maracay.
It is a difficult decision my friend @irvinc, western society inculcates from childhood to be afraid of death. That step we still can't accept it.
A hug
Why should we have to prolong suffering if we are going to die anyway, is an issue that we will look at more rationally at some point. Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting my dear @mafalda2018. A big hug from Maracay.