[Culturechat] Self deliverance

[Vance Roy]

The subject of euthanasia is not as volatile as some such as abortion. 
We are all going to die, and how we do that is out of our control for 
the most part. But, is it? Call it what you wish, euthanasia, self 
deliverance (my favorite), assisted suicide, etc. Some of us will never 
have to decide this, if we leave this world by accident. A lot of us are 
going to be faced with a choice about ending our life or that of someone 
we love.

There are few places in the world where it is legal to choose for 
ourselves or make a choice for others. Even in those places, the rules 
and regulations are cumbersome. Suicide is illegal in most societies, 
but who gets punished for it? Assisted suicide is deemed murder  in all 
but a few places. Our society, by and large, ignores death. It is sad to 
see a terminally ill person maintained through medical means when they 
and others desire to end their misery.

There are organizations that try to circumvent the law and assist people 
with voluntary death. These groups advocate active euthanasia as opposed 
to passive euthanasia. The passive variety is, and has been, practiced 
since time began. Pick out any hospital or any physician that has an 
inpatient practice, and one can see passive euthanasia. To actively 
assist someone in ending their life remains a taboo for the most part. 
It is a paradox to me that we treat our animals better than our fellow 
human beings.

In CH there are active organizations that promote the legalization of 
the right to choose to end one's life. One of these is Dignitas. Last 
year, Dignitas assisted fifty people in ending their lives. Thirty-nine 
of these fifty were citizens of other countries, giving rise to the 
fears of some that CH is becoming a "death tourism" site. In CH, one 
cannot be prosecuted for assisting suicide unless it can be shown that 
he or she had a self interest in the person's death. Dignitas is the 
only organization here that offers its services to foreigners. They 
arrange for barbiturates and have an apartment in Zurich where a person 
can take these. Upon assuring a doctor that one has made a rational 
decision to end one's life, the medication can be made available. After 
death, the police are notified and, as in all suicide cases in CH, an 
autopsy is performed.

One of the more controversial aspects of this type of euthanasia is that 
some of these people who choose to die are mentally ill. Four of last 
year's fifty persons were mentally ill. Dignitas says these people 
should have the same rights as others. Belgium and Holland are the only 
two other European countries that allow assisted suicide. The Belgian 
parliament recently voted in favor of a proposal that states that anyone 
who is physically or psychologically in constant and unbearable pain 
should be allowed to end their life. Dignitas has never been prosecuted, 
and their appears to be no legal grounds to allow this to happen.

With the modern medical means to promote survival in the face of no hope 
of cure, one wonders if self deliverance will not be a choice that will 
soon be available to all.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch
http://homepage.mac.com/fredch