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Post date: Oct 30, 2016 4:25:2 AM
How do I feel about it? At a totally intellectual level I support the right to end your own life rather than suffering. I'd like to think that I could get the green needle when I was no longer had the life I wanted, just like we can for our pets. Would I use it? Who knows - Tony &I I watched our fathers lives deteriorate below what many would have considered a good quality of life - yet it was only in Pop's last 6 months he asked for no further treatment- the closest,legal step.
When I think about Gran's last week - when not treating the tumour and not giving her food meant death was inevitable- we had precious days with her, she was surrounded by love and knew it. We could support her and each other. Annemarie had no-one with her, to protect her children and others she died alone. That to me is a tragedy.
I am a control freak, I want to have some control,at the end of my life, but I don't want to be alone.
The flowers,are not at all related to the post - were a gift yesterday and are beautiful. As they have no scent they can live - no assisted dying for them - despite them appearing to be lying on their side in the photo
have been in the midst of the debate over assisted dying in the past few weeks. Has really brought home to me how the moral/ethical debates pale when compared with the human experience.
Earlier this year a member of our church congregation died one weekend. In some ways nothing unusual about that - she was nearly 80 and living in a retirement village. She had made funeral arrangements and she was farewelled by our church community. I helped with the after service function. Pretty normal. About a month ago the Minister rang me to say she was about to be interviewed by Police over this death - and the purpose of the interview was to find out if the church had aided and abetted her suicide. My role as Parish Council Convenor has me involved more than I might usually expect to be in such circumstances.
The whole case has been the centre of media headlines this week - including naming Annemarie and reporting parts of the submission she had made on the proposed assisted dying legislation
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/85828119/wellington-woman-annemarie-treadwells-death-trigger-for-police-euthanasia-furore
Police have not come out of this well - while upholding the current law is undoubtedly their job - getting names and addresses of supporters of Exit International through a breath testing checkpoint and then using that information to question the people looks heavy handed at best, abuse of power at worst.
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