Chantal Sebire
This is huge news in the states; I just happened to notice the story in passing on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/20/france.tumor/index.html
In short, this woman has had a rare form of cancer which has been causing her extreme pain and has drastically disfigured her face (just do a search with her name on Google images to see what I mean). For the past few years, she's been petitioning the French government to get them to allow her to die with dignity via assisted suicide. A few days ago, she was given a final answer of "no" (as you can see, CNN.com is quick to point out that France is predominantly Roman Catholic, which may or may not have anything to do with this particular law).
My initial reaction was outrage. How could this poor, poor woman be denied final relief from her long, hard suffering? Why should any government have the power to decide whether or not someone can choose to end their own life.
Then, I began to think... this case isn't about suicide, it's about assisted suicide. There's a big difference there that needs to be addressed.
Why is this woman going to such lengths to make a political stand about this? Why does she feel that she needs "permission" from the government to end her own life? I mean, unassisted suicide is technically a crime, but it isn't exactly prosecutable, is it? How could this woman, who was in so much agony have the energy to launch a political campaign like this? I don't think she did. I think she was being used as a "poster child" of sorts by euthanasia advocates.
I'm sure that everyone reading this at least empathizes with her to a degree, but is legalizing euthanasia really a rabbit hole that we, as a society want to jump down? It can become a very, very slippery slope.
Ms. Sebire's case was an extreme circumstance, but the law needs to be one-size-fits-all. Many people who are terminally ill can still reap a great deal of joy and quality out of their last days. I'm sure everyone whose been diagnosed with cancer or AIDS has at least considered ending it all when they found out they were sick. Are those people really in a state of mind that is rational enough to make a decision like that? Probably not.
And how about people who suffer from emotional disorders such as depression? If some people with this affliction wished to be euthanized, should we allow it? Not all psychologists and psychiatrists can be trusted. It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility for one to convince a patient that they'd like to get rid of that they want to die.
Chantal Sebire died just a couple days after the President of France denied her request to die on her own terms. Preliminary autopsy results are inconclusive, but it is doubtful that she died of natural causes. Her family will not even be able to grieve in peace as the police investigation will likely target them as prime suspects.
Here's hoping that Ms. Sebire is resting in peace and that her family will soon be left alone to grieve.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/20/france.tumor/index.html
In short, this woman has had a rare form of cancer which has been causing her extreme pain and has drastically disfigured her face (just do a search with her name on Google images to see what I mean). For the past few years, she's been petitioning the French government to get them to allow her to die with dignity via assisted suicide. A few days ago, she was given a final answer of "no" (as you can see, CNN.com is quick to point out that France is predominantly Roman Catholic, which may or may not have anything to do with this particular law).
My initial reaction was outrage. How could this poor, poor woman be denied final relief from her long, hard suffering? Why should any government have the power to decide whether or not someone can choose to end their own life.
Then, I began to think... this case isn't about suicide, it's about assisted suicide. There's a big difference there that needs to be addressed.
Why is this woman going to such lengths to make a political stand about this? Why does she feel that she needs "permission" from the government to end her own life? I mean, unassisted suicide is technically a crime, but it isn't exactly prosecutable, is it? How could this woman, who was in so much agony have the energy to launch a political campaign like this? I don't think she did. I think she was being used as a "poster child" of sorts by euthanasia advocates.
I'm sure that everyone reading this at least empathizes with her to a degree, but is legalizing euthanasia really a rabbit hole that we, as a society want to jump down? It can become a very, very slippery slope.
Ms. Sebire's case was an extreme circumstance, but the law needs to be one-size-fits-all. Many people who are terminally ill can still reap a great deal of joy and quality out of their last days. I'm sure everyone whose been diagnosed with cancer or AIDS has at least considered ending it all when they found out they were sick. Are those people really in a state of mind that is rational enough to make a decision like that? Probably not.
And how about people who suffer from emotional disorders such as depression? If some people with this affliction wished to be euthanized, should we allow it? Not all psychologists and psychiatrists can be trusted. It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility for one to convince a patient that they'd like to get rid of that they want to die.
Chantal Sebire died just a couple days after the President of France denied her request to die on her own terms. Preliminary autopsy results are inconclusive, but it is doubtful that she died of natural causes. Her family will not even be able to grieve in peace as the police investigation will likely target them as prime suspects.
Here's hoping that Ms. Sebire is resting in peace and that her family will soon be left alone to grieve.