Euthanasia

Well, we did what we finally had to do. We took Squeakie to the vet, paid the fee, kissed her on the head, and said goodbye. It wasn’t fair to her or to us to put it off any longer. She wasn’t going to get better and we couldn’t get up every morning to see if she was still with us. This past week she moved less and less each day, unable to drink or eat or use the litter box. And for the last two days we were barely able to see that she was still alive: no more Squeakie talk, no more climbs up onto our bed, only a tiny twitch of tail and occasional blink of eyes. So, lot of tears, a few recriminations, but we’re now resigned to what had to be done.

Last January we were selfish in waiting too long to release our older cat Dusty, and were now sensible enough and kind enough to release Squeakie when we did. Too bad the same kindness can’t be given to people who have lived too long. The average life span in the US has risen to 78 for men, 80 for women., but in too many cases that life extension has people living non-quality lives: Alzheimer victims slipping slowly into vegetative states, comatose patients hooked up to life-sustaining machines, stroke victims physically and mentally incapable of anything but living in their heads. I think we should extend our present euthanasia laws to all those who no longer want to live. I remember Dr. Kevorkian and his legal battles regarding assisted suicide. I remember Karen Ann Quinlan and her vegetative state and her family’s battles regarding pulling the plug and how she remained a vegetable for another decade even after the plug was pulled. How would we tell who wants to go and who wants to stay? Have everyone given the legal option at any time during his life to state what his parameters are. In each state have a committee of five with the power to grant a death permission, the committee having to be unanimous in that decision, a decision that would override family members who might not agree with such a decision. If the patient has stated under what conditions he wants to be euthanized or allowed to die, why should anyone else go against those wishes? I know, I know, we already have “do not resuscitate” provisions, but that doesn’t cover all those who might not need resuscitating but who still aren’t living the way they want to live, too many people in our assisted living facilities who aren’t really living and who sit all day in wheelchairs hugging a doll or staring at some distant nothing, too many people who have lost the power of speech along with all their other bodily functions. No thanks to that, I say. I need to keep that bottle of pills handy, but what happens if I forget where they are? I need someone to find them for me. I need a Dr. Kevorkian. I need someone to acknowledge my desire to leave a life no longer worth living.