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THE RIGHT TO DIE
Editorial by Seshen
On Nov 22, 1998, 60 Minutes aired a segment with Dr. Kevorkian performing an assisted suicide for a man stricken with a debilitating disease. Kevorkian's goal in televising the procedure was a dare to legal entities to charge him with murder, and shake up our society's stalemate on a terminally ill person's right to choose to end their life. It seems such a simple right, to choose to die with dignity rather than continue a life of needless suffering. So, why are we so uneasy about even talking about it?
One problem is our society's denial of the reality of death itself. Our mainstream religious influences define the end of the life cycle as an aberration to be saved from rather than a natural course of events. Physical death is an enemy and beyond our control, being instead "in God's hands." The individual who willingly chooses to terminate their life is considered a hapless victim of ungodly influences, or an extremely selfish individual with no concern for the feelings of family and friends. It seems the mission of some folk to "save" the terminally ill from their own folly, as if the desire to not exist in debilitating pain was a deviant way of thinking.
The other problem is our own politically correct atmosphere. To speak of death, accept its place in the natural scheme of things, is not considered a "happy, positive" mindset. At all costs, the darker sides of life must not be brought up at all or the mere mention of them might bring us down. Our victim mentality gives us no foundation on which to face some of the harsher realities of life with any degree of inner strength. Again, we must be protected from ourselves.
Man considers himself above the animals, but we are unique in our "moral obligation" to prolong the suffering of others. Pets are mercifully put to sleep, but our fellow human being has not even a say in the matter. Death with dignity has been relegated to the courts, rather than the individual where it belongs.
I applaud Dr. Kevorkian for taking a stand on this issue.
Whether or not you agree with his methods, his efforts towards restoring our right to die
with a measure of self-respect are admirable and necessary. Our rights as free people to
follow our own conscience are being taken away more each day, and we must open our eyes.
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