You see...a friend of mine's dad is dying...of cancer.
I've been in a similar situation...twice...Mother and Mother-in-Law. They
both died of terminal illnesses.
My problem is this. In all these cases there came a point where the doctors
"ditched" them...and gave them over to the care of a Hospice. I have nothing
against hospice (s)...I think they do a fine job...and I support them both
philosophically and $$$$$$. What I'm having trouble with is the hue and cry
against euthanisa. If a person is in a hospice...they've already given up on
him getting well...he's terminal and nothing else is being done to make the
situation better....he's "as good as dead" as far as the medical, legal...etc
are concerned.
Some of these illnesses in the final stages are very painful...agonizing in
fact. So they give the patient morphine...my mother was taking HUGE amounts
in the last days.
My friend's Dad has been "gone" for about a week now...mentally....he's not
conscious. It's just his body struggling on...and on....and on....
The watching...the waiting... the final days is hard on a family. The
"patient" might not be suffering due to being doped to the eyeballs with
drugs...but the family certainly suffers... I'm finding it hard to equate what
I've witnessed with "dying with dignity".
It would seem to me that what we are now doing is the "moral equivalent" to
euthanisa as far as the dying person is concerned...yet vastly more harmful to
the survivors....
....any thoughts on this?
EvMick