Why Can’t We Choose To Die?
At what point can a person choose to die? Why is that luxury only offered to the terminally ill in a handful of states?
Just finished reading My Mother Has Paid a Huge Price for Living Too Long. I encourage you to read Christine Schoenwald’s devastating article about the decline of her mother, her mother’s finances, and now her family’s finances. All in the name of “life.”
I don’t know Ms. Schoenwald’s particular legal situation. Here in the USA, you can create what is called a medical directive. It is usually part of your will. It states who will handle your healthcare decisions should you become incapacitated. (The National Institute on Aging explains this clearly.)
“There are pitfalls to extending life beyond reason.”
A grown person of sound mind should be able to choose when they die — whether or not they are terminally ill. I understand there are pitfalls and you are free to share them here. But there are more pitfalls to extending life beyond reason.
You don’t keep people alive by refusing them the option to die. You leave it in their often incapable hands. I’ve read about people who have tried to commit suicide with a gun and misfired. Making their life far worse than when they pulled the trigger.
“Let’s tell the truth, shall we? Getting old sucks.”
A grown person of sound mind has the right to decide that they are done with this world. Imagine if a person of say, 75 years old, could die peacefully in their own home at a time of their choosing?
Let’s tell the truth, shall we? Getting old sucks. Maybe you see Grandma on holidays. But you’re too busy for her the rest of the year. She’s lost her parents. She’s losing her friends. She’s slowly losing her capacity to take care of herself.
My grandmother was in the hospital and made it clear that she did not want any more steps taken to keep her alive. My uncle was in charge of her medical decisions as outlined in my grandmother’s medical directive. He was going to follow her wishes — until her second husband’s family stepped in and pressured him. (My grandfather had already passed and my grandmother lived alone.)
“She was trapped in a small apartment…”
What happened to my grandma? She recovered enough to be sent home. Her second husband’s children rarely visited. It had been many years since she could host parties, or attend meetings at the local chapter of Hadassah. She certainly couldn’t travel anywhere. She was trapped in a small apartment with a caregiver. Waiting to die.
It is immoral to force people to live. It is immoral to impose your values on another person. Especially when you force a person to take steps to stay alive — then leave them for dead.
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Aviva Gittle publishes children’s books in English and Spanish. She’s back in her blue California, happily cooking and baking. And eating.
