The alternative to assisted dying is not living
As always with the election of a new government that appears to be radically different from its predecessor, the state of euphoria dominates the state of administration. Some things will certainly change, perhaps many things will change, but let’s see how long it takes for the banal practicalities to set in. Cynicism aside, there’s lot of talk about marijuana legalization and Senate reform and while all of that genuinely matters, surely we can do a little better.
One issue that has been an open wound of emotionalism and lack of progress is that of what is variously called euthanasia, assisted suicide or even compassionate homicide. For a nation as progressive and authentically liberal as Canada our lack of movement has been disastrous, and much of this can be attributed to a previous government beholden — if not completely sympathetic — to a Christian right obsessed with the issue.
It’s one of the big three for them of course, often the only three. No to abortion, no to gay rights, no to euthanasia. Because they have lost the first two they are fighting like zealots to defend the last.
So of what are we actually speaking here? It’s vitally important to cut through the nonsense and realize that the alternative to assisted dying is not living; the alternative to assisted dying is unassisted dying. Dying in pain, anguish and often isolation. Death is never desirable but always inevitable and while we must do all in our power to preserve life, the quality of that life is a major factor.
Quality of life, however, is a politically loaded term. Disability does not denote lack of quality, daily struggle does not denote lack of quality, age does not denote lack of quality. We once revered the elderly as mansions of wisdom, now we tend to see them as slums that are better off demolished. So a civilized society must be extremely careful in how it regards the elderly, the unfit and the unhealthy.
But this is not really the issue at hand, and anybody who tells you otherwise is misleading you. Imagine knowing without any doubt that you have a few months, perhaps a year, to live and that most of that time will be experienced — in spite of medication — in daily agony. Or consider someone with a neurological disease: their muscles and movement are wasting away yet their mind is still functioning and they know that one day they will drown within their own body and that there is nothing that can be done. This is the tear-stained, horrific reality of the argument.
None of this is easy, all of this is profound, but the vast majority of people now agree that a heavily regulated, strictly supervised system of assisted dying is the only humane approach. Teams of doctors and family members would have to concur with the individual’s wishes, time would be required for repeated consideration, every single circumstance would be analyzed. But in the name of God — and I use the word deliberately — we can no longer stand by and allow such suffering to continue merely due to a theological or philosophical technicality.
Ignore the political hysteria about depressed teenagers being killed in Europe or terrible mistakes taking place in Oregon where people are euthanized against their wishes. These are false excuses and not reasoned arguments. The Dutch example is probably the best and of those who request to die in the Netherlands, one third are declined, another third die before their case is decided and the remaining third are indeed helped to an early death.
I will never forget my father’s final few days in hospital. This man who had experienced the Second World War in Bomber Command and who knew the flesh, blood and rawness of life was fully aware that after his second stroke and his cancer he had very little time left. He wanted to go. He turned his head to me and mouthed a few words that will always remain private between us. But there was nothing I could do. He survived for a little longer, in a drug-induced haze of pain or indifference. That wasn’t a death he deserved. It’s not a death anybody deserves.
I so hope this government is listening.