Wednesday: 10/12/08

I hope the lead story on sky news this morning will help put the issue of euthanasia on a higher agenda. Its scandalous that people have no choice when it comes to ending their lives, when life itself involves constant choices. It is galling that the principal opposition for this comes from all the cult members, who believe that mere humans should tolerate whatever shit happens, all so they can dance on a cloud, and worship a figure who only had a rough few hours for all eternity. On sky news this morning, eamonn holmes asked an anti euthanasia campaigner, just why humans should be treated worse than sick cats and dogs, to which he indignantly huffed that humans should not be placed in the same category as cats and dogs. Given the depths that humans can sink to, this is a gross insult..........to cats and dogs.

Why should this option only be open to those who can afford to get to Switzerland with facilitating family members? What happens if you are unable to travel, broke and isolated as so many people here are. There is a huge industry based around sick people, be they from physiotherapists, medical people, drugs companies, caregivers etc, and the cynical side of me questions their motives.

Euthanasia is never going to eradicate suffering or disability, but we are not going to turn into some uncaring, maniacal society if we allow people another option different to the current one of living on no matter what state you're in. Yes life is precious sometimes, but the question for me is whether there would have been any fuss, if this guy, like so many others, had died a natural death after years of humiliating dependency. I believe in life, just not life at all costs.