In the last 20 years nobody has been more vilified for fighting for human rights than Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The guy spent eight years in prison and basically made a spectacle out of is own life for the sake of a right that every human should have. It may not be on the list of inalienable rights that our forefathers envisioned, but the right to die with dignity should be ingrained in our societal thinking as much as the idea of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Even though it occurs everyday, euthanasia is a voodoo topic that doesn’t come up in conversation at too many family reunions. It’s a difficult conversation to have. Nobody wants to talk about a loved one dying, but who wants a loved one to live their remaining existence on this earth in complete and total misery?
Kay Gilderdale of East Sussex, England, was recently arrested for helping her daughter to die. Her daughter, Lynn Gilderdale, had been bed-ridden for 17 years after suffering the effects of myalgic encephalopathy. She couldn’t walk, talk, sit up, swallow food, be exposed to light, was in constant pain, and many days she couldn’t even remember who she was. And that’s how she had been since 1992. Anyone would be fortunate to have a mother as compassionate as Kay Gilderdale. For the record, Lynn Gilderdale wasn’t living; she was surviving. If being confined to a bed not being able to eat, speak, or move without pain can be described as living, then your average cactus is living la vida loca.
We went through this a couple of years ago with Terri Schiavo and her immediate family fighting tooth and nail to keep her alive when she was for the most part, brain dead. Schiavo was institutionalized for 15 years after suffering cardiac arrest that resulted in severe brain damage. The issue offered an opportunity for pro-life folks to add meaning to their own lives by prying into the lives of others. I guess the argument is that all life is precious and that God wants you to live no matter how terrible the scenario is. That’s an argument for the people who are at least half conscious and free of total misery.
Surely there will be a day when some of our rules and regulations catch up with the reality of the lives that they are regulating. We die and not all life is worth seeing to the natural end. That’s a fact because sometimes the natural end is a complete and total hell?not the fake hell that the pro-life folks fear, but true human misery. I say true human misery because we would never allow an animal to suffer the way we allow each other to do so. It’s easier because we can make objective decisions regarding an animal’s life, but we have difficulty doing the same for other humans because it cuts too deep and we relate too much.
Kevorkian could do that and someday maybe we’ll appreciate that on a larger scale. Maybe someday we can appreciate that helping to a better death is as honorable as helping to a better life.
