The Life Debate

Apparently 50% of all activity in the world right now is held down by the Schindlers versus the Supreme Court, and Jacko, with another 20% devoted to steroids in baseball, leaving give or take 30% for all the 'lesser' news. The unbalanced coverage aside, I felt I'd weigh in with my opinion on the right to live/die debate.

Cutting straight to the point, I think that anyone, in the case of some form of mental incapacitation, should have the ability to state in some legal document like a will, or themselves where the circumstance may permit, their intent to end their life, and be able to have that wish carried out. Now I know this paints a murky line, because things like depression are also regarded as mental ailments, although I do not believe they affect the human quality of the ability to think. I guess in the end, anyone should have the freedom to do what they wish with their own life, as long as it does not directly affect the wellbeing of another person, and this does not include the pain that comes with losing a loved one. This said, it is my personal opinion that suicide is a cowardly way out for those with depression, but otherwise capable mental ability. On the other hand, I feel that if one loses the ability to function mentally, and so enter a 'vegetative' state, they should be allowed to have their life ended, hopefully by some humane means.

Now, in the Schiavo case, there are two main sticking points that I find. First that I have not seen anything stating that at any point Terri Schiavo formally stated that she would no longer want to live if she entered a state like she currently finds herself. In this case, I do not believe that anyone should have the right to intervene and prematurely end her life, good intentions or no. Secondly, and most disturbingly, is the way in which she is now being left to die of starvation. Although I imagine it no more painful than some kind of injection, it seems like a rather grotesque way to let someone go. While it has prolonged her life, and so given her family time to make appeal after appeal, there's something about it that strikes a sour chord, although its curious that more attention is being payed to one woman starving to death in America, in a case in which it might be her own wish, than to the 25 to 30 thousand people that die daily worldwide of starvation.