Do you want to hang on to the bitter end? If so, who pays for it? Should people be able to kill themselves whenever they want? What a series of questions. A blogger I often read is violently opposed to early death. She feels that our NHS should be there for us right through to the bitter end. I don’t think that way because I believe I am pragmatic. Why should old people, like me, consume vast resources when we cannot even maintain decent schools? Families with young kids cannot obtain childcare and yet a snotty old fart like me somehow deserves total care. Am I wrong to say that? Am I a traitor within the pensioner movement? I am. NICE has just thrown out a new medicine which might have extended our life by 4 months. It cost a fortune. The ethics of euthanasia are complex.

Political farce

Politicians are hopeless in answering these questions. They demand the resources knowing that this will never happen. They say we should not experience pain and suffering in old age. All this panders to those aged people who feel entitled to ignore their health and leave it to the NHS. Obesity is rife. Those who say fat is beautiful ignore the inflamation that fat creates. That shortens our lives. Are we somehow entitled to be fat and demand more medicine? I don’t think so. This topic arose because two people in Belgium agreed to early death. They were euthanised even though there was nothing wrong with them, other than being over 70 years of age. Surely, that decision is theirs to make. Is that, really, any different to overeating or smoking?

Ethics of euthanasia

These days we all believe we have rights. One of those is to eat, drink, snort cocaine or even work ourselves to death. In other words, to do what we want. Why the hell should the church be allowed to say that God gave life and only God should take it away? That approach upsets me, not least because God takes life away using cancer and pain. I don’t want that but then neither do I want euthanasia. However, what right have I to take that choice away from other people. My desire is to hang in there via a nice nursing home. But then, I think I can afford that; most cannot.