ON EUTHANASIA

Murder? Mercy Killing?
Abomination? Death with Dignity?

Gotta be on one side or the other, right?
HELL NO!

Anyone who wants to do away with anyone
else just because they don't enjoy the same
level of ability to enjoy life ought to be
considered a monster eh?

A farmer in Alberta kills his severely
disabled daughter to prevent her daily pain.
Did he ask her if she wanted to die?
Would she have been aware of the ramifications
of any decision if it had been offered?

A woman with a progressively dibilitating
disease seeks assistance to end her pain
and finds a doctor willing to help.
Did her family have the "right" to prevent this?

Legalized Euthanasia opens up a moral
debate that will tear at the emotional fabric
of our society... because it is just that...
EMOTIONAL

Logic and reason will continue to take a back seat
because it will continue to appear to be a black
and white issue with no shades of grey.
But in fact 
EACH CASE IS A STUDY IN SHADES OF GREY!

DEATH WITH DIGNITY,
EUTHANASIA
SHOULD be a RIGHT

It should also be closely monitored for abuse.

It should NOT be encouraged...
It should not be expected of the disabled or even
of the terminally ill...
It should not be seen as a way to inherit more quickly...
It should not be seen as a way to resolve a financial
burden...
It shouldn't be seen as an opportunity to get rid of a
cantankerous, old fool...

It should not be entered into on a whim or in the
depths of despair...

It should be a conscious decision, made in advance
through a living will that spells out a person's
wishes in the event that they are unable to make
the decision at that time...

It should be discussed with family...

Family should respect the wishes of the person
who chooses to have their life ended...

Monsterous?

Maybe so... but no less so than 
expecting a person to continue to live in extreme pain,
sometimes undergoing operation after operation
only as a holding action against certain death...
...no less so than the indignity of seeing yourself
become so dependent on others that your every
bodily function must be assisted by those others...

For any who CHOOSE to continue their lives
under ANY circumstances... More power to them...
But for those who CHOOSE to end thier lives,
No Stigma should be attached and
we should cherish the memory
of those who decide
to move on...