Assisted Suicide

I'm going to start off by saying this: I'm all for it.

That said, there's some issues with it. I certainly don't feel like I could be a... um... euthanizer. And there's some gray area about the wishes of the soon to be deceased in cases of the-somewhat-comatose but by and large, let people control their lives. If you're rational and conscious and dying horribly, why not take that final step yourself? That way your lose ends will for sure be taken care of by you. And it is impossible, or at least improbable, for some terminally-ill-yet-coherent patients to do the deed themselves. Step right up, then, and hire yourself someone to do it for you.

That's the main reason why (for a while, at least) I didn't understand the uproar about Dr. Kevorkian. He seems like a decent enough guy just helping people out one final time.

But I think I get it a little bit now. A lot of the anger and resentment comes from hurt on the families of the "victim." Or of people who have been in similar boats. Death is that final goodbye and it is hard to accept that someone would want it. That all the uncertainty and darkness of death could seem better than all the loveliness of life. If life's lost its luster, though, death's dark door looms decidedly more pleasantly on the horizon.

Suicide is, however, fairly selfish. It takes into account only what's in your best interest without considering the effects it might have on others. The people who rally out against Kevorkian are the same who have been wounded or could see themselves being wounded by someone ending it all.

Or maybe it's by those who are jealous of the courage they must have. Those who embrace the unknown and step out into the darkness necessarily have some guts backing up their decisions. I can't even imagine it. Is it nothing? Is it like falling asleep? Are there dreams you're always forgetting?

Anyway, I'm rambling a bit. Kevorkian has done good work and while I'm sad he won't continue it (part of his parole) I'm glad he'll still be able to speak to it. It's a travesty that he lost eight years of his life for something as noble as granting someone their one last wish.