Killing me softly.

So I turned to one of the doctors this morning.

Linda

"Yes?"

Do you believe in euthanasia?

And then she shakes her head and tells me, "Poet, you've got too much time on your hands."

Lord Pharmacist turns around and asks, "Where is this coming from? Anyone in particular?"

No, no, no one in particular.

There is a man on the ward. He self-inflicted a gunshot wound to the head and survived it, miraculously. However, he is just slightly more than a vegetable. He talks. Is able to eat. Lives life in a wheelchair.

About two months ago, he tried to starve himself to death. He nearly succeeded, except that his parents deemed him incompetent to make that kind of judgement and brought him to hospital to be revived.

He was not happy.

He nearly bit a nurse's finger off in an attempt to release his frustration.

Currently, he fluctuates between wanting to die and wanting to live. Doctors, nurses, everyone else is trying to get him to eat.

Its a game of find the ball under the upturned cups,really. One day, he'll refuse everything and everyone will do everything short of clamping his nose shut and force feeding him through a tube. And he'll tell everyone he wants to die.

Next thing you know, he's gulping down fluids and food and telling everyone he wants to live.

Its interesting, really, the topic of euthanasia.

As a health professional, it seems somewhat taboo that I even bring it up. To some doctors, their immediate response was, "Of course not! I'm pro life all the way!"

Really?

Tell me then. What's quality of life? If someone wants to die and you're doing everything short of pumping him full of liquid food, he's not exactly having a ball either. Let him die.

There's a book called Killing me Softly by Dr Nitschke and Dr Steward on voluntary euthanasia and the "road to the peaceful pill."

I've not read the book yet. But I will. Seems like interesting reading, really.

As you can probably tell, I'm a pro euthanasia person. If someone is desperate to the point where death seems like the only viable option, then by all means, provide them the means for it.

A lot of people will argue that its playing the role of God. That you take life into your own hands. But what if said person wants to take their own life? Who are we stop it? Its not our lives that we're trying to save. For those people who believe (or don't believe) in an afterlife, its their ar$ses on the line (or not, if no afterlife exists.)

I find it funny how in certain countries, you can choose to commit suicide but if you fail, you get a jail sentence for murder of the 1st degree. Of yourself too, mind.

To refer back to that paragraph, I personally think that I would actually provide someone the means for euthanasia out of mercy. Heck, people do it in war all the time. What's the difference doing it in times of peace?

Perhaps a lot of people think about smothering someone with a pillow until the struggles stop. Or stabbing. Or poisoning. Or something else.

Me? I'm a big fan of the pistol. The Beretta blowjob has gotta be the best way to go. Quick, noisy, efficient. No pain. Unless you're like Mr Patient who probably flinched and the bullet took off a chunk of brain rather than kill him.

Or a cyanide pill. Unless I turn out to be one of those people who just won't die on a cyanide pill. Which I think will be a rarity.

But anyway, I'm going to get up to some light reading tonight. And probably bring that book to work tomorrow and have a perusal as well. *evil grin*

No lah. I think I'll be subjected to a psyche assessment if I bring a book like that to work.

I think its funny how everyone seems so against it. Is it that bad, that....taboo-ish? As religiously distant as everyone seems to be, why are they still so fixated on a religious belief that God/or a certain power out there is still in charge?

Beats me, honestly.