Tony Nicklinson recently
died in England. It was bittersweet -- bitter because he was only 58 and had
lived the last 6 years of his life locked inside a body that allowed only his
brain to function normally; sweet because he had wanted to die. He had taken
England to court to allow him to die of doctor-assisted suicide, but they had
refused his plea. He refused food, caught pneumonia, and died peacefully 10
days later with the full consent and understanding of his wife and
children.
In a battle between immortality and death, everyone knows that
death will always win. Yet some countries, including most of the states in the
U.S., go to very extreme lengths and endless expense to force immortality upon
those who wish it, as well as those who don't. Only three states in the U.S. -
Oregon, Washington, and Montana - allow assisted suicide. What we allow our
dogs, cats, and other beloved pets, we do not allow our suffering
humans.
Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez has written several
columns agonizing over the excruciatingly slow death of his father. Watching it
first hand made him vow not to die like that. He observed that, "hanging on
seems to be the norm in our culture, thanks to advances in medical technology
and the widely held opinion that death is optional." We diagnose diseases such
as Parkinson's and dementia, while other cultures might use the simple diagnosis
of "old age." University of Hawaii professor emeritus S. Cromwell Crawford
pointed out that "we've got the money and we're spending it, but is this the
right thing we're doing morally?" As 6 year old Hush Puppy in the movie,
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" so correctly observed about modern society, "When
you get old, they plug you into the wall."
Eskimos might put their
elderly out on ice floes; the Jains of India practice "sallekhana" - starving
oneself to death at the time one decides is right - and think of it as "a good
and honorable death." In looking for a place sympathetic to dying, Whitney
Braun, a bioethicist at Loma Linda University Medical Center, noted that "though
you'd think religious societies would be more comfortable with death, in some
respects it's the nonbelievers who have better hospice centers and more
end-of-life options. As 6 year old Hush Puppy in the movie, "Beasts of the
Southern Wild" observed of modern society, "When you get old, they plug you into
the wall."
Living isn't easy, but dying in many countries, especially
the U.S., can be harder. Death is the norm in nature for everything that
lives. Indeed, there is a certain beauty in fulfilling the natural cycle of
life and death. But the quest for immortality eats up the major chunk of
Medicare, as well as the hearts and minds of the families who tearfully maintain
a vigil by the bedsides of their loved ones, watching them die piece by piece,
function by function.
I remember an old Star Trek program where the
society had evolved to the point where the bodies had disappeared and only the
brains were left. If there were technology that would keep the brains from
deteriorating, perhaps then immortality would make sense. Without that
possibility, let nature take its course.
Suellen Zima
Comments?? E-mail
Suellen at ZimaTravels.com
