The Decision of Your Life

Hi all,

Did any of you manage to watch the BBC documentary presented by Terry Pratchett? If you didn't, you really should. In the programme he tracks the lives of a few people struck by terminal and life-devouring illnesses, eventually leading to decisions about whether or not to consciously end their own lives.

I'm sure you've heard something about euthanasia, and perhaps voiced your opinions on the ethical matters behind it. It's a tricky decision for any person, regardless of situation. I think those who are genuinely miserable with their lives deserve the right to end it if they wish. However, nobody should be offered the opportunity; the decision must be made solely by the person in question. There are only a few countries where euthanasia is legal (in case you didn't know it is currently illegal in the UK), Thailand, Luxembourg and of course, Switzerland are some of the few countries that allow people to legally commit suicide, or assisted suicide, depending on how you see it.

If you're a person living in the UK and wanting to end your life, and you can afford to pay the £10,000 fee for the procedure, you'll of course have to travel to one of the countries where euthanasia is legal. Most people choose to go to Switzerland, thanks to a well-known company called Dignitas. The country has almost become synonymous with human euthanasia. I guess you have to be a fairly liberal country to allow such things - 'fairly liberal' is a massive understatement.

Obviously, most people in this country disagree with euthanasia being legalised in this country, on grounds of things such as religion or ethics. In my opinion, I think euthanasia should be legalised. I really don't see the harm in legalising it whatsoever. It's not like there'll be a mass suicide, or people would feel pressured to end their own lives - look at Thailand or even Switzerland, Switzerland being among one of the happiest countries on the planet. I really don't see why people shouldn't be allowed to end their own lives if they wish - nobody else should have a say, they're not living the life of that person, they can't possibly understand the pure unhappiness that made them make their decision to end their life. You may say 'well, you'd be very selfish, because you'd leave behind a whole family of people who will be devastated'. Selfish? Really? Who are you to say 'stop moaning about your bleakness of life, your inability to walk anymore because of motor neurone disease, and carry on with your life, you selfish bugger' You want the person to carry on living their life in agony? If so, then you are a sadistic bastard. It'll save the family agony, too, from seeing their loved one suffer their affliction long term, to the point where the person can no longer say whether they want to end their life.

If I ever got such a terrible disease like Alzeimer's or Dementia, I really do think I'd consider euthanasia. I wouldn't want to be a burden to my family, because I'd hate myself for it. The only trouble is, you'd have to make the conscious decision to end your life before your mind is no longer able to make the decision. Death is sad for everyone except the person dying. Of course, if the person was religious, they could be absolutely terrified of dying. Or, they could be disconcertingly happy, almost to the point of celebration. But lets not go into religion for now.

Here's the link for the documentary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0120dxp/Terry_Pratchett_Choosing_to_Die/

Tell me what you think..

Until next time