Raising awareness for motor neurone disease is fantastic and so I can get past the gimmicky nature of the ice bucket challenge. A cure would be amazing. But to talk about motor neurone disease is to talk about assisted suicide. Professor Hawking has faced this and yet his answer is as idealistic as mine was. I suspect more because of the brevity he needs to speak in than because of a lack of thought on the subject. I used to say yes. Ideologically as a proponent of autonomy being the most important thing in our lives, I still say yes. But practically I struggle to not think of the myriad of ways it could fall apart. Then I watch palliative care physicians in absolute awe as they make the last weeks, months and days of someones lives pleasant and meaningful. Symptom free. When it goes well they are the only deaths I now refer to as a good death. I understand the urge to take control and end things on ones own terms. I understand the fear and the suffering and wanting it all to end. But when I see the work those men and women do in alleviating suffering in a dying patients final days I dont know if the option of ending life is the best solution to alleviating someones suffering.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 11:12:39 +0000
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