I can hardly start off a blog about euthanasia without sharing how my sister used to hear about the topic on the news, not really listening to the story, but just hearing the topic come up a lot, and think those kids in Asia were a real problem.
But really, I've been grappling with the topic myself since Buttercup's death. When we made the decision to euthanize Buttercup, it was very hard to do. But it was without a doubt the very best thing for her. She was in pain. She was dying, and there was nothing we could do to help her. We had the choice between forcing her to live maybe another couple of days, in agony, unable to eat or drink...or bringing her immediate peace. The vet assured us we were making the right choice.
And that got me thinking - people think that it's OK to euthanize animals but not people because people's lives are more valuable, or something. But I gotta say - we honored the value of Buttercup much more in euthanizing her than in forcing her to live in pain just so we could have a little more time with her. If we really value people, why do we make them live in pain when there's nothing we can do to save them?
Now maybe that decision needs to be made in a living will type of thing, because a feuding family might decide to put someone down just because they don't like them. But when I think about it, Buttercup was more than alert enough her last day that, if she could talk and reason, she could've told us what decision she wanted us to make. I imagine there are many situations like that, where people have an illness with no cure, where they're in excruciating pain, but have the presence of mind to say, "I'd like to be put to sleep now." Why don't we honor them the way we honor our pets?
1 comments:
Hospice strikes a good balance between euthanasia and treatment. By stopping treatment and giving people "the good stuff" aka morphine, it helps them rest comfortably as they await their final breaths. It is hard, but it helps. My dad made the call that "it just wasn't worth it anymore" and faced the inevitable and let nature run its course. He said he would know when it is time, and he did. It was incredibly hard, but we all found great comfort in the way hospice was able to ease his pain. I don't think any of us would have had it in us to end it for him (if it would have even been legal).
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