A good death means seeking answers
Society has lost sight of death as a process we must all go through, says Julian Porteous
THE issue of euthanasia, or more precisely, assisted suicide for the terminally ill, is yet again to be debated in the Tasmanian Parliament.
This issue touches everyone in society. For every human person death is inevitable. Yet in contemporary society death and dying has largely been made remote, hidden and institutionalised. Society has lost sight of it as an inevitable process we must all go through.
It is opportune to reflect on what would constitute a good death and how to prepare for such a death, even under the most difficult circumstances.
What does constitute a good death? I believe there are several elements.
First, it involves having support and presence of family and loved ones not only when one enters the dying process, but throughout any period of illness. When it comes to thinking about dying, about 80 per cent of Australians want to die at home, but fewer than 20 per cent do. Most will die in a hospital, hospice or nursing home.
The pandemic has shown graphic images of people dying alone, unable to be accompanied by family and friends. They are surrounded by machines and people in PPE. Even sadder are the images of rows of coffins buried in mass graves. Many have felt keenly not being able to attend the funeral service of family or friends.
With advances in medicine (and because for many people the dying process is managed by experts), the human dimension of the dying process can be overlooked, despite best intentions of health professionals.
Family and friends can find themselves onlookers rather than carers and accompaniers. They may feel a little at a loss as to how they can be more directly engaged with their loved one in the final stages of life. We naturally desire to love and be present to those going through the dying process. Even when our loved ones are unconscious we know our presence has a significant impact.
Second, a good death involves appropriate medical care. It is critical that those with terminal conditions have properly resourced palliative care. We have all heard stories of people dying well and others where loved ones have had very difficult deaths. Indeed, it is family members of those who had difficult deaths who have been most vocal in their support of assisted suicide for the terminally ill.
Yet the experts tell us modern palliative care properly resourced is able to manage pain and suffering. No one should be dying in intolerable pain, no one should be dying horribly. For families to have experienced this is absolutely tragic and should not have happened. These moving testimonies highlight the need for an inquiry into how these kind of deaths have