On Death Panels

[fractal_empire]

A few years ago, my grandfather on my mother's side was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was 78, well retired, a devout Catholic, and a bit overweight. The cancer treatment was very harsh; for four months, my grandfather endured an ugly series of chemotherapy, drugs, illness and pain. The cancer was eventually removed, and after a few more

Comments

[cerulean_scars]

"Death is inevitable, we should have in our culture an appropriate way to deal with it."

I agree with everything that you said, but I think this one phrase is paramount. Of course, as in all the big questions in this society, everyone focuses on the legalization of whatever solution, rather than trying to suss out the root cause. We would save trillions of dollars if we emphasized critical thinking instead of regurgitation in our school, media, and other cultural systems. Accept that death happens; stop trying to cheat it at every turn. Enjoy the life of now, rather than throwing away money and time (your own and the greater society's) in hopes of "having a life" when you're retired, thinner, the kids are gone, whenever.

[sjklawyer]

Ahh, the invulnerability of youth.

I promise you, in sixty or seventy years, when I'm old, decrepit, and on death's door, I'll spend every penny of my children's inheritence for the chance to live one more day. And, unless I'm wrong and you're an ultimately enlightened individual (and statistically, you're just not), you will too.

Stepping back a tiny bit, there is no way I'll stand for a Death Panel telling me that it's time to put Granny out to pasture. That her life isn't worth it.

But then, I'm all for saying 'fuck it' to the Public health system and buying my own damn plan anyway... so...

[fractal_empire]

So why do so many kids get inheritences?

[jijnasa]

Well, obviously in some cases there's no amount of money that could sustain the person's life any longer. In other cases, people realize there is in fact no hope and they are merely prolonging their own suffering. But that is their decision, and I think it ought to stay that way.

The value of a person's life can only be known in their own subjective experience. In the absence of legitimate objective criteria to assess the value of a person's life, no external authority can claim the right to make decisions about when to end it.

Of course, what frightens me the most about this idea is that it seems like such a slippery slope...