OF LIFE AND DEATH AND DEMOCRACYVoluntary Euthanasia discussed - by Mark Owen
[Note: This was written at the time when Iraq was invaded; thus the reference.]
It's an amazing spectacle. Here we have our so-called 'enlightened' western nations invading a small country without provocation and unleashing a mini-war that has resulted in the death and maiming of hundreds of civilians - child and adult - and soldiers. We were counting the dead in hundreds; now we count them in thousands. And yet - the same politicians who have unleashed this torrent of death and destruction in the hope of bringing democracy to Iraq's people act undemocratically in denying a handful of their own suffering citizens a peaceful death with dignity.
In Iraq we kill and get killed - and impose endless suffering on the families of the bereaved. In New Zealand a woman is jailed for helping a miserable human to end that suffering. Similar cases are being fought out in courts in other countries - but the Establishment - infected by the virus of religion - is determined not to let their fellow-citizens choose their own destiny.
Shored up by that evil and undemocratic institution called the Conscience Vote - in which the politician exercises his or her conscience but overrides the consciences of the electorate he supposedly represents - our governing bodies pursue their mad ways. Net result - an increase in human suffering.
There is only one reason for this madness - religious superstition. No other explanation provides a satisfactory reason why so many politicians would rather see their constituents slowly waste away in pain - sometimes gross pain - with all the attendant misery inflicted on their families and friends.
Crazy religious notions about life - and death - permeate the psyches of too many politicians - and doctors, for that matter. The medical establishment, too, is part of the problem.
And now the Australian government - in the thrall of the Church - is trying to stop people disseminating information on suicide via the Internet. This is the sort of control Red China tries to exercise over its citizens. But even China cannot fully stop the free flow of information on this wonderful People's Forum - the Internet, the true hope of all democrats.
Meanwhile our nursing homes struggle to cope, abuses are reported, the aged, many of whom would happily take leave of their mortal misery, are kept like prisoners in their beds of pain. There is public alarm about the abuse of the dignity of Iraqi prisoners - but - what of the dignity of our aged? There is no dignity in the bedpan. There is no dignity in having to be bathed and cleaned by another. There is no dignity in having to exist from day to day on painkilling drugs.
What utter madness! Supposedly humane support and preservation of life perpetuating instead - inhumanity and misery.
Oh ye cruel - and undemocratic - politicians! How dare you stand by and see people suffering like this - in the face of overwhelming popular support for voluntary euthanasia.
Go back to FONT PAGE of site