The topic is weird right…..smiles. I just keep stumbling on this subject matter this past week and i decided to blog it. I saw an interesting Indian movie that made an impression on me by one of my favourite Indian actor and the whole plot was centered on this topic euthanasia . Few days later i decided to read a novel by sidney sheldon titled “nothing lasts forever” and the story was also on this topic. What a coincidence right…..the reason i decided to write.
Before science people die from the slightest of disease but now thousands of lives have been saved. It has helped relieved the pain of many to the extent that some people see their doctor as their God. so should i say it has been a blessing or is it otherwise. I am talking about the people science has not been able to help. These are the people placed on life support system. They are people in comatose state or rather vegetative state which is as good as dead.
I will refer first to the book i read. One of characters had cancer that even chemotherapy could not help him. He just had to wait patiently till the cancer eats out his life but the bad thing here is that the more the date of his death draws near, the more his pain. He can only be given drugs to reduce his pain. He could bear the pain no longer, he asked his doctor to help end his life. The doctor understanding how much pain he must be going through decided to help him by letting him die a less painful death. He was given an overdose of insulin which allowed him die peacefully. He died with a smile on his face. At this point i will let you know that euthanasia is not allowed in any state of the world. At least so far as i have researched this is what i found out.
In the movie the main character was paralysed both hands and legs. He also had kidney problem which led to other health issues. For fourteen years of his life he struggled and had hope. He made the most of his life even in that state by anchoring a programme which touched thousands of lives. He made many smile with that programme and gave people hope. He was an inspiration to many but he was helpless. He lost hope with each passing day and decided euthanasia was the only option for him. He could no longer wait for death because it seemed far and his health kept deteriorating. He was so helpless to the extent that he needed someone to help end his life. He moved the motion in court with the help of his lawyer who was also a friend but the state refuse him his offer saying it was against the law. He decided to use his radio show to plead public sympathy but he didn’t get positive answer because people didn’t want him to give up on life.
My questions on the movie is was the state wicked by not realizing how bad his health was and help relieve him of his misery? were people selfish by not helping him end his pain because he was giving them hope and making them smile?.My question from the book is, should the doctor have helped him end his pain because she understood how much pain he was in?.
I believe life that cannot be created should not be taken. I am against euthanasia or rather mercy killing. I believe life is precious and every moment spent in it should be cherished. Life is a gift and i believe everyone who has onced received a gift cherished it. For the character in the book, the love he would have gotten the few days he had left to spend would have been greater than the pain he felt if he had family to show it to him. when you smile you don’t remember your pain. He should have made memories that will make him live on in the hearts of his loved ones for a long time rather than thinking of death. That would have helped his pain more than any drug.
For the movie, the smile he puts on people face daily, the lives he has helped put back on track and the love he was shown daily. If he looks back on these, it was enough hope for him to want to give it another try in life. I understand he lived like that for more than ten years but he had people there for him. He was a mentor to many and admired by many. He will live long in the hearts of many. Some times you look beyond your pain and when you see you are the reason some is smiling or giving life another chance i think that is enough to make you happy. I really don’t know but it is easy to please me and that would have made me want to fight and stay alive . Having a strong will to live.
Comments are welcomed and i want someone to try and convince me otherwise. Though i doubt anyone will be able to make me change my mind but the try is very much welcomed. I end like this LIFE IS PRECIOUS AND SHOULD BE CHERISHED.
