That Noel Conway killed himself last week engendered among many the disappointment that is natural when a person does not live up to their potential. His act meant this 71-year-old British campaigner for "assisted dying" did not have the stomach to go to the true end of the journey of his life, but cut short for himself the full extent of exploration and discovery - yes, partly through pain and suffering - offered to him. It also stymied the opportunity for the growth (see here and here) that could have ensued in the lives of those around him,
Conway, a retired further education lecturer, had motor neurone disease, as had Stephen Hawking, whose long time with MND is a counterpoint for all the arguments Conway presents in trying to explain why he killed himself. In the statement he prepared for release upon his death he declared: "When you read this I will be dead... because I have made a conscious and deliberate effort to end my own life." He said his carers planned to stop using a ventilator he needed for breathing.
His MND was diagnosed six years ago and he knew there would be a time when "I would reach a point when my muscles would have deteriorated to such an extent that I could not function effectively".
Those last two words are enlightening as to what life meant to Conway. Clearly, he was blinkered by the utilitarian view of life that is ravaging most developed nations, where the fruits include the unwillingness to respect human life at its beginning, and the destruction of those affected by genetic disorders such as Down's Syndrome, both often because of their impact on someone else's personal lifestyle, as is the infectious impulse in recent times to kill old people when thought not to be able to "function" any more.
Conway wrote this:
Over the past two months it has become increasingly evident to me that the balance of fulfilment in life, or if you like, my quality of life, has dipped into the negative … My voice has depleted to the extent that many people cannot now tell what I say and my eyesight recently deteriorated.
I’m already a paraplegic and I cannot use my hands or fingers but I am aware that my neck muscles are weakening as are my mouth and speech muscles. I recognise that the time has come to take the decision now to do something about this.
His conclusion: "I feel that I have no alternative to ending my life without pain and suffering".
Pain is always a test of one's principles and mental strength. Conway was a member of the Humanists UK group, which supported him in his campaign for a law change. It was unfortunate that he went in that direction for support rather than tapping into a religious acceptance of his circumstances as the will of a loving God. All religions dwell on the meaning of suffering, none more so than Christianity, where God Himself took on human form and died horribly to benefit all people from the damage of sin and what was seen as the curse of death.
However, society's response to those who are suffering continues to improve. Palliative care has seen an explosion in services and investment in resources. It's noteworthy that both the British Medical Association, and the Royal Colleges of Physicians, General Practitioners and Surgeons are against any relaxing of the law.
Specifically: "A British Medical Association members’ survey found that 76% of palliative care specialists – those who have the most expertise and experience in caring for the terminally ill at the end of life – oppose any legalisation of assisted suicide, and the same percentage declared that they would be unwilling to participate in any such activity."
The evidence from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Oregon, which have lax laws, is that it becomes very quickly a matter of "Kill first; ask questions later" - the headline of an article on the issue in Statute Law Review; and the so-called right to die quickly becomes a duty to die as young and old feel pressure to not be a burden on their family. In addition, suicide multiplies in the general population as ethical standards weaken.
Stephen Hawking was mentioned above. He died in 2018 aged 76. He was 21 when he was given his MND diagnosis and doctors gave him two years to live. That was in 1963. If he had killed himself at that news, imagine the loss of insight into astrophysics the world would have suffered, the huge gap as a role model for the disabled, the absence of unique technology that has gone on to benefit others, but most of all, the glowing example to all of us of human striving in the midst of adversity.
Tracey Bleakley, Hospice UK's chief executive, has said that her members recognise that a big concern among the public, propelling many to favour a law change, is the fear of the symptoms of conditions like paralysis or dementia. She says:
My feeling is that we need to increase public knowledge on the choices that are already available and on decision-making at end of life in general before we can think of taking the next legal step.
That the patient has a role in making a decision about the end of their life is well-recognised in ethics. A Catholic statement has this to say about the intent of refusing treatment:
Everyone has the legal right to refuse treatment, but patients who refuse treatment rarely do so in order to end their lives: they do it because they are finding the treatment burdensome and they want to let nature take its course. There’s a world of difference, in medical ethics and in law, between accepting that death can’t be prevented [in the process of certain relief treatment] and seeking assistance to end your own life.
Depression is another cause for a person to think death is the only way to escape their suffering. But, again, it's a mistake to make life and death decisions when in a state of despair. A Guardian first person account runs with the headline: "I tried to take my life five years ago. Now I'm grateful to be alive".
The writer, a British surgeon, describes his state this way:
I first realised I was depressed a few months before I tried to kill myself. I had been feeling low for a long time and things began to spiral after the end of a relationship and moving into an apartment alone. ... One day, I had had enough. The pain had become physical as well as mental, and the idea of having to live any longer was unbearable. I took an overdose. My last thoughts were of my family and how much I loved them.
Though he was not happy to find that he had been resuscitated, he got the psychiatric help that he needed:
I was referred to a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I started weekly therapy. I slowly learned to live with my feelings rather than try to suppress them or distract myself with work. It was extremely hard digging through years of painful feelings and memories. Often I would feel worse at the end of a therapy session than I had coming in. But eventually I began to feel better. I found an antidepressant that suited me. I learned how liberating it was to say honestly how I was feeling. I learned how to ask for help and to go easier on myself when I was struggling. I realised just how much my friends and family cared for me and how much they wanted me to get better. This gave me the strength to keep trying.
This surgeon is back serving his community:
Five years on, I am grateful to be alive. It took a few years before I could say that. I still have bad days, but I live a full life and it doesn’t hurt to be alive anymore. I’ve learned that when times are tough, I need to talk about how I’m feeling. I tell my support network if there are challenges coming up in my life so they know to check in with me more closely. I’d like to think I’ve become a better friend and a better listener. I’ve learned to be more open with people and share the bad times as well as the good ones. The more I have opened up and shown my own vulnerabilities, the more others have felt able to show theirs and we have been able to support one another. I no longer feel alone.
Conway, in effect, is not a pioneer, but just a prominent member of the bandwagon promoting "rights" in every direction. This movement is not particularly worried about the consequences. For example,
[They] conveniently ignore the ways in which the Oregon Death with Dignity Act has been bent and broken since 1997. The rate has skyrocketed by over 1000% from 1998 to 2019, and while almost half of all patients in that period have cited concern about being or becoming a burden on family, friends, and caregivers among their end-of-life worries, only around a quarter were concerned by inadequate pain control.
Another matter of concern is how access under such laws contininues to expand:
In Oregon, it is now possible to have your life ended on the basis of ‘terminal’ conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, and complications following a fall.
How unsound and deceptive it is to have a "right to die" cried up in society. That many governments are accepting the call is distressing given the false premise of such a "right" and the adverse consequences that are already becoming clear from the pioneers in this latest example of a society blinkered by today's Godless and amoral Zeitgeist.
For those who recognise how misguided society is in this, the challenge is to be more convincing through loving support than is any law that promotes death as the best solution to personal pain and distress. Our task is to make redundant whatever laws of this kind appear on the statute books.
Ω Have a look at my Peace and Mind newsletter on Substack. Subscribe there - It's free! - to be notified of all postings.
No comments:
Post a Comment