CALIFORNIA has joined Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that legalizes assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Beginning January 1, doctors can prescribe medication to end a patient’s life if two doctors agree the person has only six months to live and is mentally competent to make such decision.
Supporters of the bill said the measure would help end-stage cancer and other patients to die with less pain and suffering, allowing people who are terminally ill to die with dignity and greater comfort. Those who oppose the law contend that unscrupulous caregivers or relatives could pressure vulnerable patients to take their own lives.
As a compromise with lawmakers who were worried about unintended consequences, such as the targeting of the poor, elderly and disabled, the law will expire after 10 years unless extended.
Our kababayans around the world have mixed reactions about this law and here are some of their comments:
Ramon Yadao from Manila stated: “Yes. My life. My terms.”
Rowena Orejana from New Zealand said NO, sharing the following reasons from the website NZCatholic.com, articulated by Dr. Peter Saunders, the campaign director of the United Kingdom-based Care Not Killing Alliance.
“In the UK, there are four reasons why politicians are against the bill.
The first is public safety. ‘If you change the law, you inevitably end up putting pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives out of fear of being either a financial or emotional burden upon others. And so it’s been all about protecting the vulnerable people, particularly those who are elderly depressed, or who are disabled or sick,’ he said.
The second is that the status quo is okay. He said the law is clearly defined and in cases where there are justifiable causes, few end up in jail. ‘The best laws are those that give clear-cut boundaries. We say, you must not travel above 100km/h on the highway. We don’t say it’s 100km/h unless you’ve got a sick child or you’re late for a really important appointment,’ he said. ‘It’s clear. Then, we deal with cases of those, after proper investigation, that have [a] legitimate excuse.’
He said there are limits to personal freedom. ‘We are not entitled to the freedoms which undermine the reasonable freedoms of others. Changing the law for a small group of determined people actually removes legal protection from a much wider group of vulnerable people who then become prey to those with an interest in their deaths,’ he stressed.
The third reason, he said, is when there is good palliative care, requests for assisted deaths are rare. The fourth is the fact that opposition comes from a lot of different groups. Dr. Saunders said legalising physician-assisted suicide is not a slippery slope but more of a ‘mission creep’ or an ‘incremental extension’. ‘Sympathetic doctors will try to widen it. If you think about their main arguments, choice and compassion, those could apply to a wide range of people.’
He said people will put a value on human life, whether or not it is still financially or emotionally viable. ‘It’s the relative costs of chemotherapy, palliative care and lethal drugs. Is that a temptation that we want to put in front of our legislators?” he asked.”
Leandro Quinatana from Hawthorne, California intimated: “If living with extreme, unendurable pain, an individual should have the legal option to end his life in a civilized and dignified manner.”
Teta Limcangco from Manila tweeted: “This is a tough question but at the end of the day ..it still boils down to one’s conscience. IMHO… I doubt if that bill will pass here coy. RHbill nga, pahirapan pa.”
Alvinture8 from Manila also tweeted: “I prefer natural death, I still believe in miracles.”
Amber Khan, a doctor from New Jersey, wrote:
“I do believe in life and I believe in God. I don’t believe in taking over the role of God. The multi-billion dollar Pharmaceutical Pain Industry can make [the] end of life comfortable, till it is the end of life! Every life will come to its natural end. Would I ever want to suffer? No!!! But will I kill myself or put that burden on another person? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
As a doctor, over the years I have learned that people have a very different threshold for pain, suffering, or even patience.
Please be mindful and ask yourselves that once euthanasia is legalized, who will determine that it is ok to end a person’s life, when pain and its perception is so subjective! When every doctor has a different threshold for dealing with patients who are suffering? Do you want me to kill you because you are taking too much of my time, my emotions, and my endurance? And then, remember, that the Hippocratic Oath, that we as doctors, take to heart, and what drives us to take care of every life, regardless of anything, including our own safety i.e. driving in a blizzard with unpaved roads or regardless of the fact that we will never be paid because you don’t have insurance, will mean nothing!
So Dear advocates of euthanasia, kill yourselves! Deal with the consequences. Or let your loved ones live with that burden! Do not make your doctor your scape goats! Or seek an expert field of amazing Pain Management Doctors. Your Insurance covers it. YES! It is your life. It is on your terms!
Extreme pain? You want to end your life in a dignified manner by asking a doctor to drown you with Morphine? Where is the dignity there? So please, before you all start with the right to die because you can’t take it, or you can’t let your family suffer, think about the implications, the manipulation by family members when a patient can’t speak for themselves, or even the convenience of a doctor who now will be given the power not to just save lives, but takes lives! Talk about the God Complex!!!!! And keep in mind, once euthanasia is legalized, you won’t ever be able to trust your doctor. One of the last breeds of humans, still living and fighting every day for their patients at the expense of everything and everyone in their lives. “
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
