My husband brought to my attention a recent article in the B.C. newspaper: Spain to OK death ‘with dignity’.
Of course I had to read the article and google for more information.
It appears that in March 2011 Spain’s socialist government will approve a draft law that will allow people with incurable diseases in the terminal phase to ‘die with dignity’ – to die without suffering. It is a law that will be based on existing legislation in European nations.
“It will have nothing to do with euthanasia, which is the decision taken by someone and for their own reasons, and because they are sick, to die,” Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Spanish deputy prime minister said.
(Euthanasia is illegal in Spain but the law allows a sick person who is in control of their mental faculties to refuse treatment.)
Do you view Spain’s recent decision as a sin and think it is morally unacceptable?
Do you believe human suffering reveals human virtues, and should not be tampered with?
Or, on the basis of individual freedom, should an act of self-decision not be punishable?
I think most people would agree that futile life-sustaining treatment is an unethical practice and people should have the right to refuse it. But what happens when a patient can no longer express consent—isn’t that what living wills are for?
Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
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