Thursday 24 September 2009

Dying With Dignity. The Right To Die.

Not long ago my dog got poorly, her back legs went, this happened overnight without warning, she was a powerful German Shepherd so i am sure you can imagine the sight of her unable to stand caused a great deal of upset. Without hesitation we went off to the vets to be told she had a disease in her nerve endings. The vet said a trolley could be made and she could drag herself along on this but the picture filled me with horror, the vet agreed that this would take away her dignity. So ten minutes later full of tears and after lots of hugs a held her as the vet put her to sleep.
Do i have regrets? Not one bit, she had been my friend, companion and protector for 8 years, yes i miss her being around, i miss her company and i miss her funny ways but the thought of keeping her alive for my own sake would have been wrong. Her quality of life had gone and she deserved far better.She was in no pain but without quality of life we have nothing. So why does the same not apply to humans?
If dogs, cats, hamsters, mice and even goldfish have the right to die with dignity, why not humans? Death is one thing we are all sure of, it comes to us all, why, why ,why if we are suffering, quality of life has gone can we just not just go with dignity. In our own homes or a place of our choice with our loved ones around us.
Yes i know everyone is different, some people want to grasp every single moment, no matter how ill they are, whether this is because they still value what has become of them, religion or fear of death, they fight to stay alive. But others just come to a point where enough is enough and are ready to go. They should be able to, without fear and with guidance.
Also it should not just apply to terminal illness, if quality of life has gone in whatever form then we should be able to decide for ourselves to end it in a safe controlled way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I know if my legs went I would much rather have a trolley than be killed and I'm sure many dogs would also prefer wheels as opposed to death. Just my opinion.

Seriously though, I agree that the right to die is important in many cases and I do think the government should consider euthanasia clinics similar to those in Europe.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with this. But I see a problem. My husbands mother is in a home with Altzheimers. She has no quality of life and does not recognise any of her family. The Altzheimers came of fairly quickly but she refused to recognise that she had a problem so the right to choose to end her life would not have been an option but I am sure if she knew what she would end up like she would have chosen to do so.

It is agony for my husband and his family to see her like this. She should be allowed to "die with dignity" just like the doggy in your story.