Still much loved.

One of the lines of reasoning I have been following, really given Sir Terry Prachett;s decision is that it seems to be as a result of a loss of hope. That’s what Bones’ dad had and up to a point Bones’. Their decision was wrong because of the timing.

How far apart would the timing need to be to make it the right decision? Sir Terry is a difficult choice because he has brought so much joy to so many people. If you were the person to end the potential of his recovery, how much time could pass between that and a cure for you not to feel bad?

Also, if everyone with this condition is allowed to die as soon as symptoms get to a certain point, why should anyone bother to find a cure? Where’s the market?

My condition is treated indefinitely by very crude medication. I feel very lucky that I could benefit from that being at a stage where 80% of the day/week/year this is not more than an annoyance. The death resulting from untreated type one diabetes mellitus is both disabling and humiliating. If this comes to pass, would the treatment have ever been discovered?

“His father pleaded with McCoy to release him from the pain, but McCoy could not, as he was adamant in attempting to find a cure. Seeing his father suffer so painfully, however, moved McCoy to soon acquiesce and take his father off life support.

Soon after a cure was discovered, and McCoy subsequently lived many years in regret for causing his father’s apparently needless death. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)”

My view is well-expressed by the British Humanist Association briefing on the subject.

“The current system sometimes also results in close relatives being faced with immensely difficult choices: whether to assist a loved one who is begging for help to put an end to their suffering knowing that it is unlawful, or to deny their loved one the death they want.”

There is no easy way out here.

I believe that people should be able to access good quality, patient-centred treatment and care at the end of life; and terminally ill, mentally competent adults should have the choice of an assisted death, within strict legal safeguards, if they feel their suffering is unbearable.

I worry about the fact that democracy depends on the citizenry being sufficiently well-informed, and that’s not the case. The tabloids provide many people with their information about the world around them and they are a far from unbiased source. Conrad Black hated the EU (as it would potentially limit his monopoly power) so he has used his papers to spread outright lies about the EU to discredit it in the eyes of his readers. Fortunately, he is now in prison. As some-one once said “A free press consists of printing whichever of the proprietor’s prejudices that are acceptable to the advertisers.” Vested interests and sensational journalism dominate a lot of the media content and that’s not good for decision-making. Think of the lamentable quality of the debate about GM foods.