by Evelyn G Ward

Created on: July 27, 2008

The right to die, it isn't so much a right as an absolute, we are all going to die. Do we have the right to choose how or when we die? I wish we did, but either polititians, doctors or people of faith tell us what is right or wrong.

Suicide is against the law and for a healthy person I can understand this. The bible is against suicide, this too has its place. Because if we all decided on mass that we'd had enough of the stuggles and strife of life, then humanity is doomed.

So the point of God and the State being against it is obvious. Doctors too have a vested interest in how we die. The only person who has no say is the indiviual. So far I have watched two members of my close family die. Watching a person lying in a bed taking weeks to pass is not a fun process. It makes no sense economically either. Tying up beds and using precious staff resourses. Would I have wished them dead quicker? No, but, they were already dead, along with what little dignity they had left.

Should every person have the right to die with dignity? Yes they should and at the time of their choosing. An asumption is made that all terminally ill people or people with degenerative conditions would want to end it all early. Most I think would want to live as long as they could and as fully as they could, but with the comfort of knowing when they were done with the struggle, finally they'd be given their freedom.

Another strange side effect of this discussion and I am not being flippant is the growing market for Suicide Tourism. It may seem sick, but in a world where some countries have clincs and practioners who can legally assist how long is it going to be before a package deal is available. Only the fear of prosecution for the family member or friend that assists in the journey holds a lot of people back.

In a world of political correctness, are we discriminating against those whose disabilities prevent them travelling to end there lives? I know this is a ridiculous question, but then this whole debate is shrouded in religous dogma and political will. This would seem to me to be just another individual verses the state debate if it didn't contain the biggest taboo of them all, death. In this liberal age when we freely discuss sex, politics and all aspects of life openly, still the subject least socially accepted is death. The day someone askes you "how are you?" and you can answer "I'm dying" without causing a massive social gaff, we will be on the way to a more open minded approach to death.

I say "Yes" let the individual die with dignity, but have no real hope that this will ever happen.

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