Most of the time posts about Terry Pratchett go into Cafe Society, but I wasn’t sure if this would count as “entertainment.” It’s fascinating to read his take on the debate, since he’s facing a future with Alzheimers.
I’ll die before the endgame, says Terry Pratchett in call for law to allow assisted suicides in UK
His bit is down below the first few paragraphs, and starts…
The whole thing is worth reading. There are lots of great pictures of him too.
Thank you so much for posting this article, Equipoise. As reported for the UK in the article, the vast majority of people here in Austaralia (it is claimed) want the right for assisted suicide. But the government won’t even hold a referendum to see if that is the case an allow a democratic approach.
I want a sign-in system. Basically, unless you sign up, with whatever safeguards the put in place, euthanasia isn’t available to you. That protects all those who live in distrust of their families and the medical profession or just don’t want this option.
It was a huge fear of my mother’s that she would be made to suffer a long and undignified death - so much so that she resisted hospital when it could have made life easier. Fortunately, her last months were dealt with very well by the aged services and hospital when she finally did need help. She had made sure that she had the means she needed available, but even though she was a long term sufferer of depression, she never used them.
My father (decades earlier) refused hospital because he didn’t want his life prolonged when death from cancer was inevitable. Consequently, we had to nurse him at home, a trauma I don’t think my mother ever really recovered from. I will never forgive those who oppose voluntary euthanasia for making his last months so much worse than they should have been.
I wish those who oppose voluntary euthanasia realized just how cruel they are. I must admit, my only fear of dying is of life being unnecessarily prolonged. I am an atheist with no belief in the afterlife. It always amazes me that those who profess religious beliefs and that they will go to heaven, are also those who most strongly oppose natural or assisted deaths - the very kindness we offer our pets.
I don’t know why those who don’t want assistance to die with dignity need to force their life wishes on those of us who feel differently. No-one is going to force it on them.
In the hopes that in your despair and pain you’ll see the light and fall for their particular religion, I believe. They really love the idea of unbelievers converting on their deathbeds ( and often claim that well known skeptics have ).
A chaplain came into Mum’s room in intensive care in her last week. This was only last year. She knew exactly what was going on. Mum asked me to: “Please tell her that I’m not going to convert now and ask her leave.” She was quite distressed by the chaplain’s presence. Mum was a founding member of the Australian Skeptics. I have talked to friends with atheist parents who have died and never heard of a death bed conversion.
Mind you, Mum was a tad irrational at the end. She had always vowed to finish Proust before she died and had been working on it for years. She insisted I brought in the last three volumes! She died a week later with no advance in her goal, but she did make us laugh and even laughed at herself.
Excellent article, Equipoise. Another thank you for bringing that our attention.
I’m off to GD to quote part of it in the hospice thread there.
Damn, I’m sitting here in tears. If I had my way, I wouldn’t want Terry to go at all, and I damn sure wouldn’t want his brilliant mind to be whittled away to nothing, bit by bit. But on the other hand, I admire his courage in facing the inevitable, and his desire to do so with dignity.