I came back from vacation to discover that the Supreme Court had ruled that it is not criminal to assist someone in taking his or her own life. This is probably a reasonably decision, but it sounds as though the ruling is rather short on detail, and that is a challenge. Just because assisted suicide in no longer strictly illegal there will need to be parameters. Who will decide what they are? And who will offer the assistance? While 85% of Canadians want freedom to choose, 75% of doctors don't want to be in that role.
I feel that we are still clueless about death in our society. We don't prepare for it with honesty, and we haven't equipped physicians to be part of that conversation. Even though we think we want choice at the end, how well equipped are we to make decisions in the midst of physical and emotional stress?
As a pastor I regularly speak with folk about the end of life, as does my partner in ministry, Vicki. She does so both as our minister of pastoral care and as the local hospital chaplain. She is very good at what she does. But even when people want to address their impending death family members are often reluctant to do so. A friend does palliative work in a hospital as a physician but is often frustrated by the unwillingness of families to address what is happening and making the end of life better for their loved ones.
In a recent article Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente reflected on the experience of her mother as she came to the end of her life. She didn't have an easy departure because of a lack of adequate palliative care, including pain control. Wente contends -- and I agree with her -- that this Supreme Court ruling and any laws that are enacted cannot ensure that we will be compassionate:
My point is that the vast majority of the frail, the elderly and dying – people like my mother – don’t need assisted death to ease their passing. What they really need is a vast culture change in the way we care for them. What they and their families need is the assurance that simple compassion and humanity will not be smothered by complex systems and bureaucracy. Unfortunately, no law can guarantee that.
We have a long way to go and I hope that communities of faith will be able to respond in ways that help rather than hinder the conversation?
What are your thoughts, O wise readers?
My parents assisted my maternal grandmother in her end of life journey. They had her brought into their home. They had pain management and nursing care assisted by VON. The nursing staff were particularly helpful in providing information on what could be expected in those last few days.
ReplyDeleteMy parents felt that it was important that my grandmother not be alone in those final days and that her life could be brought to a close without a hospital.
I agree that compassion and dignity can be achieved with sufficient palliative care and support for families. We cannot allow ourselves to deny the inevitable. Our passing family members deserve that from us.
I would not want to be a doctor, asked to assist in suicide...
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