The Suicide Tourists
If anyone who watched the programme entitled "The Suicide Tourists" last night on the ABC, sat through the entire presentation and was not deeply moved by the situation that Mary Ewert was placed in, by witnessing the final extinguishing moments of the life of the man she loved and had spent her life with, then I would suggest that they should become a politician and join the other heartless bastards who refuse to allow the terminally ill the right of passage to a dignified and painless finale in a place and a time of their own choosing, instead of the utterly disgraceful option that led the Ewerts to the Zurich "Palace of Dreams".
My heart went out to Mary as she kissed her husband for the final time and watched as he took his final breath, before the blood pressure monitor beeped the "flat- line" message of departure. I was writhing in my chair, with tears running down my face, as I tried to imagine the thoughts running through this poor lady`s mind as the promise of the final event became reality and the time had come to have her husband`s body cremated for her return home with his earthly remains!
The decision to allow filming of this final event was a very brave one for this devoted couple, who had investigated and exhausted ALL acceptable options, and they should be remembered for posterity as true believers in human rights!
This should never have to be carried out in this manner! We have no choice in being born but we do or should have the choice to decide when it is to end. We are all dying and not all of us are assured of a dignified and relatively painless death if left to the tender mercies of the "do- gooders" and the "Right to Lifers".
This is a very emotive issue for society to have to deal with, however deal with it we must and society must accept that a severely injured animal is euthanased as a humanitarian gesture, but our own species are forbidden the right to decide their own choice of voluntary Euthanasia at a time and place of their own choosing!
I find it absolutely appalling that our politicians have the supreme arrogance to try to control the lives of the long suffering terminally ill. As you say, stray dogs get better treatment than their masters in these circumstances. I dont know how we can remedy this unjust and inhumane situation as politicians these days seem to be impervious to the will of voters.
If your old dog is blind and arthritic and you end his suffering, you are considered a kind person. Should you help a loved one end their suffering in much more dire circumstances, you are a murderer. Whoever said "the law is an ass" certainly knew what he was talking about.