Kindness gladly still abounds
DRIVING away from a hospital appointment following a long afternoon yesterday, we realised we had a flat tyre on our car.
We rang for assistance which was possibly available in half an hour, but it could have been longer. My husband had switched on the emergency lights. It was dark and we were on the side of a busy city street.
Just then, a young couple approached us and asked if they could help in any way. They had a torch and helped us change the tyre in a short time. Nothing was too much trouble. We were so grateful for their kindness and time given to help a couple of elderly strangers. We were encouraged that young people who are sometimes misjudged as selfish, were ready to help in our time of need.
Smoke harm
I OFTEN shake my head in disbelief when I read the sign ‘No smoking within 10 metres of playground equipment’. That’s fair enough. But then I look up and I see about eight chimneys pouring out acrid smoke which envelops not just the playground, the park, the sports centre, but also the adjacent preschool.
The local primary schools are similarly violated. PM2.5 and PM10 particles from tobacco smoking and from burning vegetation, such as wood logs, have been researched and proven to be detrimental to heath. This is why most European countries have now banned wood fires in urban areas.
It will probably take Tasmania 50 years to catch up but in the meantime could our authorities please read up on the research and, at the very least, run education programs for the wood burners in regards to minimising their impact on the health of children and the wellbeing and comfort of their neighbours.
Our councils and government need to be more proactive. Wilful ignorance amounts to negligence. Just ask the victims of asbestos and their families. assisted suicide”.
How reassuring for Nick that he already knows the manner of his death and that it will be a “good death”.
Having watched a family member succumb to a brain tumour, unable to perform the most basic of human functions without assistance, unable to speak or see clearly, unable to eat and only able to take fluid from a foam swab in case they choked, I can assure Nick and other likeminded people that some don’t get the opportunity for a “good death”.
We allow our pets to die with far more dignity than our loved ones because of people that think it’s fair to push their belief system onto others. I challenge anyone who has watched a loved one die in such an undignified, insufferable manner to cling to the belief that their God or any God wishes us to suffer in such a way.
Assisted dying won’t result in more deaths but it will result in less suffering. It’s not compulsory Nick, it’s a choice — not that you think you’ll need it.
However Mr Baltzly omits to acknowledge Dr Pereira’s detailed response to the critique of his article, published in the same edition of Current Oncology as the critique.
Dr Pereira acknowledged some errors in “references and subtleties”, but deftly defended, on the evidence, his primary thesis that euthanasia and assisted suicide cannot be safely regulated.
This defence appears to remain unchallenged in that journal. Disingenuous? I don’t think so.
On the contrary, Archbishop Porteous participates in this debate in a candid and sincere fashion.