The Germ of an Idea - 9-29-09

The phrase ‘Death Panels’, a fevered figment of Betsy McCaughey’s fertile imagination, was adopted by Sarah Palin to bludgeon Democrats. Ironically, it may contain the germ of an idea worth discussing. The end-of-life scenario in which God alone writes the plot is, far too often, excruciating,  impoverishing, and inhumane for both the sufferer and surviving loved ones. Thoughtful people cope with end-of-life issues with living wills, but far too many neglect this option until it is too late for a self-directed outcome.  After a heart attack, my neighbor and Congressional representative, for example, lay in a coma for nearly eight years with no hope of recovery while her loved ones agonized and the family’s reserves disappeared.  In Florida, legal battles raged and politicians paraded their piety to their base while a woman declared brain dead by doctors was displayed over and over on television. Dying with dignity, it seems, is no easy achievement.

But a legally established panel of ethicists, medical professionals, and other qualified and compassionate parties without agendas (no preachers, priests,  or politicians, please) could, at least in part,  restore the most important individual right routinely denied millions – the right to depart this life on one’s own terms.  Since 2.5 million people die each year in America, this issue is of current concern to a vast number of citizens, and eventually to all but a fortunate few. In cases of terminal illnesses where recovery is impossible and there is no quality of life, physician-assisted suicide should be available. It is used responsibly, respectfully, and effectively by a small number of people in Oregon and should be an option for all who consciously choose it. This concept offends only those who believe they should control your choices.

For better or for worse we are all mortal. No one among us sees ourselves as a conduit for constant pain in circumstances that are humiliating and costly, but many of us arrive there with no way out.  Death Panels, a lie designed to deceive people about their end-of-life planning responsibilities, might be turned to a more noble purpose, Death with Dignity Panels.

Anyone who believes that our national wealth is infinite, that it’s appropriate to spend  vast amounts of that wealth on lives devoid of sentience, and that people get the suffering they deserve should feel at liberty to disagree with the opinions expressed, as should anyone wed to the notion that compulsion is to be preferred over compassion.