Euthanasia.
Was gonna watch Dave last night but switched to a Dr Nitschke documentary instead. Mademoiselle and the Doctor. It was really ... "inspiring" isn't the word. Not "comforting" either because it wasn't easy viewing. But it was a relief. A real relief to know that someone actively supports a person's own choice for cessation of life - with dignity and no shame. I'm surprised he hasn't been knocked off yet - I guess this is not America - but I'd seek him out myself, I think, if he was still around when I was older. I don't think I could go through with it if not terribly depressed but I'd like to be armed with the info about how not to botch it. I've always hesitantly admired Nitschke. Now I'm a bit less hesitant. He's scary and confronting, for sure, but it's not really HIM; it's life, death, us. We're scary. We impose religious limits, I half-suspect, to save ourselves from fear. In some measure anyway. Of having to constantly confront the fear of it all. (Life, death, us, them, what?) I think Dr Nitschke is compassionate and logical, and I love a keen mix of the two. He also came across as incredibly articulate, I thought, and very respectful. (He's everything his detractors are afraid he's not!) Anyway, the documentary alleviated a subconscious burden I wasn't aware I was carrying. I don't think it's permanent relief, but it was almost relaxing. The woman, herself, Lisette Someone-or-other, she was a true inspiration and role model. Not a role model for death, but a role model for living.
Here you go (if you're interested).
That woman had the most amazing career in the US. She was a retired professor, French-born and well-travelled. Such a smart old woman; sharp as a tack and not easily waylaid by fools.
Found this pic on another website and it made me laugh!
(Maybe you have to see what she was like in her interviews.)
This is her final statement, a clear, reasoned argument for self-determination, unclouded by depression, dementia, or other mental or physical illnesses.
I WISH I was like her and Nitschke: I WISH I could rule out there being a god - God - but I just can't. And when she said, "I don't believe I'll burn in hell," oh, I was so envious! How could she be so SURE!? She sounded exactly as I would - she reasons and accepts reality the same way as me - if I hadn't had the fear of God (ha - literally!) instilled in me at my (Anglican) high school. "The threat of hell," Anne used to put it.
Here you go (if you're interested).
That woman had the most amazing career in the US. She was a retired professor, French-born and well-travelled. Such a smart old woman; sharp as a tack and not easily waylaid by fools.
Found this pic on another website and it made me laugh!
(Maybe you have to see what she was like in her interviews.)
This is her final statement, a clear, reasoned argument for self-determination, unclouded by depression, dementia, or other mental or physical illnesses.
I WISH I was like her and Nitschke: I WISH I could rule out there being a god - God - but I just can't. And when she said, "I don't believe I'll burn in hell," oh, I was so envious! How could she be so SURE!? She sounded exactly as I would - she reasons and accepts reality the same way as me - if I hadn't had the fear of God (ha - literally!) instilled in me at my (Anglican) high school. "The threat of hell," Anne used to put it.