by Ronni Dee

Created on: December 26, 2008   Last Updated: December 27, 2008

Think of the person closest to you at this very moment in time. Remember all the laughs, the good times, and even try to recall the bad. Think of how you helped each other through those bad times such as a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a career in a time of deep financial troubles.

Now, as morbid as it may sound, think of them in their most vulnerable state, at their weakest. Perhaps they are terminally ill with a cancer that is untreatable. Perhaps an accident left internal wounds so severe that surgery is suicide in itself. There is not one painkiller that has worked to take the edge off. Even with oxygen, every breath is exhausting. This person is asked how they feel. They reply, "I wish I had the energy to lift my hand and kill myself to end this pain." Maybe they reply with an "I wish I would just die already".

How do you feel? I feel like I wish I could help them. I want to end their pain, their suffering, or I may even have the desire to take all of their pain unto my own body just to see them smile one last time. The question at this point in time is not the debate of justifying suicide.

The question should be "should I allow this person to continue in such agony, such pain, such suffering for the rest of their short life, however long it may be". One hour of pain can feel like days. Each minute that passes the hope that it will all just end.

What is going through their mind at this point? We know they are in pain we cannot subside. We know they are hurting, wondering what the after life, if any, will bring. Sadly, most humans in this horrific condition are mostly thinking about the debt that will be left, needing to be paid after they pass. Life support, oxygen, and morphine: none of them are cheap. Is it justifiable to let them leave this existence with nothing but worry and fear on their mind? With nothing more than pain that intensifies with each passing second, do we let this continue?

What do veterinarians do every day to animals who were hit by a car, cats with leukemia, or horses with multiple fractures of the legs? They euthanize them. Why? They do this to end suffering and put and end to the pain.

My father in law committed suicide. My father was murdered. My father in law had many worries, and emotional pain. My father had a seemingly bright future. Was my father in law justified? Was my father's murderer justified?

This world is made up of choices. The choice to get educated, the choice to get up each and every day and go to

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