12 August 2013
Go the End of Life Choice Bill! (Update: needless to say it did not get selected.)
Great to see old stager Maryan Street, Street by name and streetfighter by nature, holding the reins of this bill. Her speaking on the subject is eloquent, personal and sensible.
It is notable that the only voice of dissent was a christian, so I do want to cover that off - we understand. We do actually recognise that your personal belief disagrees with the idea of allowing human decency to a terminally ill person, but that's quite ok; like gayness, it isn't going to be compulsory, so you can just keep your silly old myths to yourselves.
With modern medicine keeping the vast majority of people alive for long enough that age-onset diseases to kill most people, there can be few Kiwis who have not watched a relative die of a terminal illness.
If you have, do not bother clicking this next link, because it may upset you, with objectively graphic descriptions of the end of terminal cancer patients' lives. If you have not witnessed the ugly, slow decline of a terminal cancer patient, be my guest and see what you've missed. Remember, that poor piece of meat may be you one day.
Aside from watching my own father die of cancer, I also recently had another friend die of cancer. In very short order, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and imminent death. Being in the stomach, he was unable to take nutrients and starved to death. Towards the end, he disallowed his own children to come and visit him, because the last thing any father wants is for his kids' last memory of their dad to be a skeletal corpse lying in a hospital bed.
Then there's Alzheimer's. Also recently, a very good friend of mine died from it. don't know whether he would have chosen not to die in a bed, wearing an adult nappy, body wasted away, not having known his wife of 50 years for the past year, fed by tubes, but I know bloody well I don't want to!
I know my own dad wouldn't have taken the short-cut to the disease, and not because of some stupid sky-fairy, either. He was the kind of bloke who would never give up, no matter what the odds. he was a longshot player all his life.
Again, I know full well that if I'm ever in the same position as him, I'll be taking the exit bag.
People must be allowed the chance to die with dignity. I cannot for the life of me figure why so many people can't see how blatant a human right this is. If you keep a horse with a broken leg alive, you will be prosecuted for animal cruelty, but if you help a human to end his or her suffering, you will be sent to Mount Eden jail.
That is wrong and must not be allowed to continue.
In the meantime, if any of you are in the situation of needing an exit bag, there are some handy DIY instructions right here!
Copyright © Alan Charman