This is one of those issues that will not die and putting it out of it's misery is not an option; what is needed is a complete change of heart.
Every one dies. Choosing to kill yourself or some one you love when it all looks too hard is selling life short, is selling those last days or weeks short.
My Dad died of (lung and liver) cancer when I was in my early 20's and I am so grateful that he didn't have the option to be killed. He spent his last few days on morphine, so I was able to get there in time to see him before he died. Yes, it was awful, but I would not trade that last afternoon and morning that I was with him for anything. Sometimes, I still miss him so much it hurts.
I didn't believe in anything at that point, but I knew absolutely after being there when he took his last breath that he went to God. It was like Heaven opened for a brief time and let me know that there was far more to life that just what we have here. Of course, I filed that incredible experience away as something inexplicable that I couldn't accept at the time.
So, I've come away from my Dad's death with a knowledge that how we die MATTERS. Being but down like a dog degrades us. Dogs do not have the capacity for self-knowledge in the way that we do, therefore we need to allow the process of death to unfold for ourselves and for our loved ones because it is through suffering that we learn what is absolutely important in life. There's no shortcut to that.
Related links: The euthanasia debate ~ KiwiBlog, David Farrar
Legal euthanasia kills justice for all, Sunday Star Times, John Kleinsman
Every one dies. Choosing to kill yourself or some one you love when it all looks too hard is selling life short, is selling those last days or weeks short.
My Dad died of (lung and liver) cancer when I was in my early 20's and I am so grateful that he didn't have the option to be killed. He spent his last few days on morphine, so I was able to get there in time to see him before he died. Yes, it was awful, but I would not trade that last afternoon and morning that I was with him for anything. Sometimes, I still miss him so much it hurts.
I didn't believe in anything at that point, but I knew absolutely after being there when he took his last breath that he went to God. It was like Heaven opened for a brief time and let me know that there was far more to life that just what we have here. Of course, I filed that incredible experience away as something inexplicable that I couldn't accept at the time.
So, I've come away from my Dad's death with a knowledge that how we die MATTERS. Being but down like a dog degrades us. Dogs do not have the capacity for self-knowledge in the way that we do, therefore we need to allow the process of death to unfold for ourselves and for our loved ones because it is through suffering that we learn what is absolutely important in life. There's no shortcut to that.
Related links: The euthanasia debate ~ KiwiBlog, David Farrar
Legal euthanasia kills justice for all, Sunday Star Times, John Kleinsman
This article shows that the euthanasia is ethically and morally wrong; http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/euthanasia.html
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