Category Archives: Euthanasia

Editor,

In times past, when a fellow human being desired to end their life, all manner of assistance was brought together to help that person and pull them back from the (literal or proverbial) edge. In fact, I remember as a child asking my father what it meant when the traffic reporters said that the Port Mann bridge is closed due to a police incident and him telling me that there was likely someone who felt their life was no longer worth living and wanted to jump off the bridge. In those situations, the first responders wouldnt think twice about shutting down an entire bridge in an effort to save the persons life because if someone got to the point where they wanted to jump off a bridge it meant society had failed them in one manner or another and we needed to try to make it right.

Its only been six years since Canada legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide and while it was first justified as something necessary for those with a terminal illness in the last days of their life on earth, it has now become something nearly everyone can access, soon to also include those with mental illness. We should be ashamed of ourselves. On the one hand we commemorate Bell Lets Talk Day, a day to highlight the fact that life is worth living even while suffering through mental illness, and on the other hand we will offer death as a solution to mental suffering.

Just as in the past it would have been unthinkable for first responders to assist a mentally ill person by pushing them off the bridge, it should also be unthinkable today that we allow a euthanasia doctor to assist the same person by killing them in the sterile environment of a hospital bed.

Mike Schouten

Yarrow

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LETTER: The slippery slope of Canadas MAiD regime - Agassiz Harrison Observer

After pleading unsuccessfully for affordable housing to help ease her chronic health condition, a Canadian woman ended her life in February under the countrys assisted-suicide laws. Another woman, suffering from the same condition and also living on disability payments, has nearly reached final approval to end her life.

The two high-profile cases have prompted disbelief and outrage, and shone a light on Canadas right-to-die laws, which critics argue are being misused to punish the poor and infirm. In late April, the Spectator ran a story with the provocative headline: Why is Canada euthanising the poor?

But medical and legal experts caution that oversimplified media coverage of the cases fail to capture the realities of the system and warn that sensationalist coverage of a handful of extreme cases ignores a larger crisis in the countrys healthcare systems.

In February, a 51-year-old Ontario woman known as Sophia was granted physician-assisted death after her chronic condition became intolerable and her meagre disability stipend left her little to survive on, according to CTV News.

The government sees me as expendable trash, a complainer, useless and a pain in the ass, she said in a video obtained by the network. For two years, she and friends had pleaded without success for better living conditions, she said.

Now a second case has emerged with several parallels: another woman, known as Denise, has also applied to end her life after being unable to find suitable housing and struggling to survive on disability payments.

Both were diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCR), a condition in which common chemicals, such as those in cigarette smoke and laundry detergents, can trigger nausea, blinding headaches and in extreme cases, anaphylactic shock.

Both had also argued that specialized housing where air flow is more controlled would ease their debilitating symptoms.

Unable to work, they each received $1,169 per month placing them well below the poverty line in Canadas most populous and expensive province.

For activists, the cases have come to represent Canadas failure to care for its most vulnerable citizens and raised questions about how assisted-suicide laws are applied.

But experts caution the cases are also being used by groups opposed to medical assistance in death (Maid) in an attempt to scale back legislation rather than looking at how governments can improve people living with disabilities.

Inadequate housing is not one of the eligibility criteria for medical assistance in dying. While somebodys living circumstances may contribute to their suffering, it does not constitute the grievous and irremediable medical condition, which must exist, said Chantal Perrot, a physician and Maid provider.

Perrot said that while housing could have helped, it was only a part of a broader struggle against the chronic condition.

The only treatment really for that is avoidance of all triggers. Thats pretty much impossible to do in ordinary life. So better housing can create a temporary bubble for a person but theres no cure for this, she said. We do this work because we believe in peoples right to an assisted death. Its not always easy to do. But we know that patients need it and value it. We live with the challenge of the work, in part because it is important to alleviate that suffering.

When Canada introduced legislation on assisted suicide in 2016, advocacy groups raised fears that vulnerable populations could be targeted, or that physicians would be forced to override the oaths theyd taken to protect patents.

Many of the slippery-slope arguments that were made initially never happened, said Hillary Ferguson, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University. There were fears that the floodgates would open and all these people would be accessing Maid or even forced upon them. But thats not been the case.

Last year, lawmakers revised the criteria for MAID after the countrys supreme court ruled that a previous version of the law, which excluded people with disabilities, was unconstitutional.

The issue is once again before a special joint parliamentary committee tasked with deciding whether to expand access to consenting children and those with mental illness.

Jocelyn Downie, a professor of law at Dalhousie and expert in end-of-life policy, said there are extensive guardrails in the system to protect Canadians.

You have to meet rigorous eligibility criteria. And being poor and not having a home, or a home that is suitable for you, does not make you eligible, said Downie. Cases that involve a chronic condition are often time-consuming because clinicians are working to exhaust all other options to ease the suffering of their patients, she said.

Downie said that the cases do highlight societal failures but not with the countrys assisted dying laws.

Listen to what people living with disabilities have been asking for years, she said, pointing to investments in accessible housing and transportation.

Instead of fighting over the law, which lawmakers are unlikely to repeal given a string of supreme court cases upholding the right to physician assisted death, Downie said a greater emphasis should be on disability supports and services and mental health supports.

The reality is, its a small number of people who qualify for Maid. But investments in mental health and disability resources would go so far to help so many more people live their lives.

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Assisted deaths of two Canadian women living in poverty puts spotlight on euthanasia laws - The Guardian

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY Ten adult dogs and five puppies slated for euthanasia at an undisclosed rural northwestFlorida shelter have been rescued by the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.

The dogs arrived Thursday at the shelter on 77th Streetand are undergoing examination by shelter veterinarians and other personnel.

According to societyCEO Kate Meghji, the dogs are part of a nationwide problem experienced at shelters across the country since the start of the pandemic.

For years, intake at shelters has been going down, but in 2022, weve seen a jump in owner surrenders and strays in many areas, said Meghji. Even at our shelter, owner surrenders are up 20% so far this year.

Meghji attributes the jump to issues with housing, where owners have had to downsizeresidences, move in with family and in some cases, became homeless.

Help make room: Adopt or foster dogs who've been atHumane Society a while

Leash law: Pet cats shouldn't roam free inIndian Rver County

A lot of times, we are able to help and keep pets with their families, said Meghji. "But sometimes, people are just left with no other options.

The dogs from the Panhandle were turned over to the shelter by owners who could no longer afford to care for them, or they were picked up by animal control.

Theyreceived little or no medical care, were not spayed or neutered, had no vaccinations and no socializationall things that the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.is ready and willing to provide.

The adult dogs are mixed breed, something Meghji likes to call designer hybrids, but most of the puppies seem to be some type of hound mix. Although they appear to be in good health, Meghji said she will quarantine the dogs until they make sure its safe to expose them to other shelter animals.

Once the dogs are available for adoption, the shelter will place them for adoption in stages to minimize the stress an animal often feels when moving from a shelter to home environment. Some will make it to foster care while they recuperate from any medical needs they may have before they can be adopted permanently.

Janet Begley is a local freelance writer for TCPalm.com.If you like articles like this and other TCPalm coverage of Treasure Coast news, pleasesupport our journalism and subscribe.

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15 dogs arrive at Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County - TCPalm

My name is Holly Warland, Im 30 years old, I have Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, and I have won the right to die. In 2021, my home state of Queensland (Australia) legalized Voluntary Assisted Dying a process formerly known as euthanasia for people suffering from terminal illnesses. I advocated and fought for this law so that I could control when and how I end my suffering.

If the name hasnt clued you in already, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) is a genetic muscle-wasting disease that affects the bodys limbs and girdles (hips, shoulders). Basically, my entire body from the neck down. LGMD involves the deterioration of my muscles due to a protein deficiency. When I use my muscles, they dont regenerate like they would for anyone else. Over the last thirty years, I have lost all ability to look after myself and function as a normal human being. I am bedbound and need help with toileting, feeding myself, showering, and preparing medication, and have essentially zero mobility. I even need help in my sleep! My husband has to roll me from side to side every hour or two so I dont get sore in the same position all night.

Other people living with LGMD will have different experiences; some are even able to live mostly regular lives. However, due to a lack of experts or research, I can only assume that mine is a particularly aggressive case. Theres very little in the way of treatments or therapy that can help my diminishing strength.

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My only means of mobility are a pair of wheelchairs one for going outside and one for showering and toileting. My hospital bed, which I exist in for over 23 hours every day, uses an air compressor to maintain a cushion of air underneath me to help avoid bedsores. My days are mostly a balancing act of relieving my aches and pains with physical therapy (lots of stretching and massage), managing medications, and regulating my mood.

I was diagnosed at 11, but I tried not to let it stop me from achieving goals, but I also had to stay realistic when setting them. Being the humble human in the world, I decided I would earn a doctorate by 25 years old. After high school, I went on to study psychology at university, later going on to teach others and study for my Ph.D. in autism neuropsychology. I would use an electric wheelchair to attend university via sometimes outright dangerous taxi rides. This proved to be doable for the majority of my university career throughout my early 20s. During this time, I was still reasonably mobile and could socialize with friends, go to concerts, and even dated around a little.

I met my husband in 2015 online dating while I was still studying. We had a great 18 months together until my body began to betray me. My strength dipped due to the nature of my condition my muscles had been atrophying and had gotten to the point where my autonomy was being strained. I could no longer attend university and my strength made my study and any type of work nearly impossible.

I found myself at home with vomiting spells, shaking, sweats, muscle contractions/spasms, episodes of breathlessness, heart palpitations, and muscular pain. My husband (then boyfriend) stayed home to care for me and became my official carer. This all led to me becoming severely depressed as I came to the realization that I would have to kill myself in order to avoid a slow, painful death.

I wanted to die as soon as possible and desperately began looking for options, but the only one available to me was DIGNITAS a Swiss organization that helps terminally ill people to end life on their own terms. Unfortunately, I wasnt up for the twenty-hour plane ride. My own country had no similar laws, but support was growing in another state for medically assisted suicide (now called Voluntary Assisted Dying). I felt helpless.

I was stuck in bed, sick every day and crying in pain thinking, How could I escape this? Even though everyone would love a peaceful death, no laws were in place to give me the right to one.

Despite living in a western modern country, the rights to a peaceful death were still far away. I felt frustrated.

In 2017 I started an Instagram and Facebook to document the ugly truth about disability in the hopes of raising awareness of my situation. I wanted to honestly depict how muscular dystrophy (and other similar disabilities) can affect your life. I put some graphic, uncomfortable stuff (my naked body, disability injuries) on there, but I managed to find an audience that was interested. People who are sick of disability being sugarcoated. As my followers started to grow, and my opinion was shared by many, I felt like I had the power behind me to do something.

In 2018 my story was published in a local newspaper. The story would go on to win a Walkley Award sort of the Oscars for Australian journalism. This was a small, state-wide magazine, but had an impact nonetheless.

This launched my online career and would allow and encourage me to get involved with my state politics. I contributed to the Dying with Dignity campaign to legalize VAD in Queensland. I shot a video testimonial and wrote my story again to be heard before the state parliament. At this stage, my health was so bad that I couldnt attend any rallies or hearings. This is why I relied on some #BadBacktivism.

The internet has made it possible for me to protest from my bed. If I was in this situation 20 years ago I would have been completely useless as a political force! I have managed to achieve change without leaving my house. I thought this was impossible, and that I was to remain forever depressed and feeling helpless regarding social issues that I wanted to help change. I wanted to go beyond slacktivism. Simply liking a Facebook post wasnt enough for me anymore. I had to take control of my death. This could only be done by taking the right routes to change. I wrote letters to my parliamentary members, joined an established campaign group, and used my platform on Instagram to challenge antiquated (and often religious) views. Obviously, my passion for this campaign was self-serving to begin with as I was frantically looking for a way out. But it became more as I began to connect with fellow sufferers and was encouraged to make my own shit happen. I couldnt rely on or wait for the world to catch up with me.

I dont want to be called inspirational because my original reasoning for change was selfish.

I was doing all this while taking several different medications, sick and in pain every day, while stuck in bed with a bad back!

After years of campaigning, my state finally held a vote on a VAD bill that would allow terminally ill people to end their suffering. They voted YES to give dying people access to a pill that kills them peacefully. All authorized by medical professionals, with checks in place to ensure no one is being coerced, and no more than 12 months from the predicted time of death. Although this is a massive victory on the path to legalized VAD, my condition still would not qualify. This is a bittersweet victory. Although my muscles are deteriorating at a rapid pace, no doctor can predict when or how I will pass away. This doesnt mean I dont want control over my end of life.

Obviously, I didnt change the law by myself, but I like to think I encouraged others to join the fight to go beyond liking a post, and actually get involved. Its been these small steps that led to this victory, as well as an army of people with varying physical abilities and a unified need for a better death. This victory isnt mine; its shared with the thousands of Australians who live with permanent pain and health issues, as my country begins to ask itself; what does the quality of death mean to them?

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My Journey Of Fighting For The Right To Pass Away Voluntarily - Bored Panda

POLICE NEW AT SIX IOWAS I ONCE AGAIN GETTING NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR A PROBLEM WITH PUPPY MILLS. THE HUMANE SOCIETYS HORRIBLE HUNDRED REPORTS SAYS THAT IOWA HAS THE SECOND MOST REPORTED PUPPY MLSIL IN THE COUNTRY AT 17. THE REPORT DETAILS ARE HORRIFIC AND INCDELU CASES OF UNETHICAL EUTHANASIA AT HOME VETERINARIAN TREATMENTS AND DANGEROUS LIVING CONDITIONS. HUNDREDS OF DOGS MISSOURI IS THE ONLY STATE THAT RANKS

Report: Iowa among the worst states when it comes to puppy mills

Updated: 10:24 PM CDT May 10, 2022

Iowa is once again getting national attention for a problem with puppy mills. Iowa has the second most reported puppy mills in the country with 17, according to the Humane Society's Horrible Hundred latest report. The report details horrific cases of unethical euthanasia, at-home veterinary treatments and dangerous living conditions for hundreds of dogs. Missouri is the only state that ranks worse than Iowa, with 26 confirmed puppy mills.More news:

Iowa is once again getting national attention for a problem with puppy mills.

Iowa has the second most reported puppy mills in the country with 17, according to the Humane Society's Horrible Hundred latest report.

The report details horrific cases of unethical euthanasia, at-home veterinary treatments and dangerous living conditions for hundreds of dogs.

Missouri is the only state that ranks worse than Iowa, with 26 confirmed puppy mills.

More news:

Originally posted here:

Report: Iowa among the worst states when it comes to puppy mills - KCCI Des Moines

Editor:

I am in my seventieth year of life. My life is finite, like everyone elses. I want to finish this life with honour and with integrity. I want to leave a legacy to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that I have lived life to the fullest until my last breath.

I learn a lot of what I just wrote from my 18 year old grandson, who 14 months ago, was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma. Through 20 rounds of chemotherapy, another 25 bouts of radiation therapy and a number of surgeries, the doctors have had to admit defeat. Cancer is going to win the battle over my 18 year old grandson. But my grandson does not give up on the life he has been given. He lives each moment, and like Henry David Thoreau wrote more than a century ago, to suck the very marrow out of life. Each breath is precious. Each life is finite and ought to be lived until the last breath is naturally taken from that life. My grandson is teaching all those who encounter him this very important lesson and his grandfather is one of them.

And that is what makes the present and the future euthanasia laws so heinous. Each life is precious and should be savoured and relished for the incredible gift it is. Our members of parliament need to do the right thing by speaking up and voting against making MAID [medical assistance in dying] more available. Even better would be to reverse and fight the recent trend to make euthanasia more accessible.

Yours,

John Siebenga

Continued here:

Each life is precious and should be savoured - Houston Today

Michael Asciak, a doctor and former chairperson of the Bioethics Consultative Committee suggested the introduction of advance directives and further investment in palliative care before opening a discussion on the delicate subject of euthanasia.

Speaking on Andrew Azzopardis talkshow on 103 Maltas Heart, Michael Asciak, said before euthanasia, we must introduce advanced directives which would allow people to instruct what should be done if they are no longer conscious.

Living wills and other advance directives which are not legal in Malta are written, legal instructions regarding preferences for medical care if somebody is unable to make decisions for themselves.

Advance directives guide choices for doctors and caregivers if a person is terminally ill, seriously injured, in a coma, in the late stages of dementia or near the end of life.

Asciak who is opposed to euthanasia added that we need more solidarity and support because very few patients who are given support choose to die, because such people fear that they will be left alone. That is why we need to strengthen palliative care.

The former MP noted that the only palliative care in Malta is offered by the voluntary organisation Hospice Malta.

He also stressed the need to differentiate between positive and negative euthanasia, or in other words ending somebodys life by giving them medicine or by assisting them to die by not giving them medicine.

Euthanasia is not legal in Malta and assisted suicide is a crime punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

However, Asciak underlined the importance of human autonomy when deciding on health care. Every patient has a right to refuse treatment, he said, adding that he is against euthanasia because this would go against the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, which require doctors to protect the welfare of their patients.

Euthanasia remains a divisive issue, however other guests who appeared on Azzopardis talkshow agreed on the need for a mature discussion on the sensitive matter.

TV personality Josef Bonello said that death and suffering remain taboo subjects but stressed on the need to look at death as a natural and unavoidable part of life.

He explained that he is in favour of allowing people to opt for euthanasia as long as they are in a sound state of mind because, according to him, suffering should not be glorified or sanctified.

Bonello added that he has seen people close to him, including his mother, go through immense suffering, and this made him to ask why are they still alive? He added that this situation brought him to the realisation that people with terminal illness should be given the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they wanted to end their life.

Its a question of dignity, he said, adding that euthanasia is a very personal issue and should not be turned into a partisan political one.

Operations Director at Sedqa Jesmond Schembri agreed that dignity is central in the euthanasia debate, adding that dignity is very subjective and euthanasia should be seen in the context of lifes continuum.

While positioning himself against euthanasia, Schembri said this was consistent with his beliefs that life should be protected at all stages, from conception onwards and explained that for this reason he opposes abortion and the death penalty.

He explained that quality of life deteriorates with age and therefore clear parameters should be set for when and how euthanasia can be put into action. However, he warned that such parameters were prone to abuse, as the experience in various countries has shown.

Lovin Malta deputy editor Jonathan Cilia called for a discussion on the legal, ethical, and experience process for someone to get assisted suicide in Malta.

While arguing that life in beautiful, Cilia noted that people suffering from terminal illness should be given an opportunity to choose assisted dying. However he said the state of mind and the body play a very important role and people should be stable and understand what position they are in in the present and the future.

Watch full discussion below

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Euthanasia: Doctor calls for introduction of living will - Newsbook

There is an endlessly repeated witticism by the poet Anatole France that the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. What France certainly did not foresee is that an entire country and an ostentatiously progressive one at that has decided to take his sarcasm at face value and to its natural conclusion.

Since last year, Canadian law, in all its majesty, has allowed both the rich as well as the poor to kill themselves if they are too poor to continue living with dignity. In fact, the ever-generous Canadian state will even pay for their deaths. What it will not do is spend money to allow them to live instead of killing themselves.

As with most slippery slopes, it all began with a strongly worded denial that it exists. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada reversed 22 years of its own jurisprudence by striking down the countrys ban on assisted suicide as unconstitutional, blithely dismissingfears that the ruling would initiate a descent down a slippery slope into homicide against the vulnerable as founded on anecdotal examples. The next year, Parliament duly enacted legislationallowing euthanasia, but only for those who suffer from a terminal illness whose natural death was reasonably foreseeable.

It only took five years for the proverbial slope to come into view, when the Canadian parliament enacted Bill C-7, a sweeping euthanasia law which repealed the reasonably foreseeable requirement and the requirement that the condition should be terminal. Now, as long as someone is suffering from an illness or disability which cannot be relieved under conditions that you consider acceptable, they can take advantage of what is now known euphemistically as medical assistance in dying (MAID for short) for free.

Soon enough, Canadians from across the country discovered that although they would otherwise prefer to live, they were too poor to improve their conditions to a degree which was acceptable.

Not coincidentally, Canada has some of the lowestsocial care spending of any industrialised country, palliative care is only accessible to a minority, and waiting times in the public healthcare sector can be unbearable, to the point where the same Supreme Court which legalised euthanasiadeclared those waiting times to be a violation of the right to life back in 2005.

Many in the healthcare sector came to the same conclusion. Even before Bill C-7 was enacted, reports of abuse were rife. A man with a neurodegenerative disease testified to Parliament that nurses and a medical ethicist at a hospital tried to coerce him into killing himself by threatening to bankrupt him with extra costs or by kicking him out of the hospital, and by withholding water from him for 20 days. Virtually every disability rights group in the country opposed the new law. To no effect: for once, the government found it convenient to ignore these otherwise impeccably progressive groups.

Since then, things have only gotten worse. A woman in Ontario was forced into euthanasia because her housing benefits did not allow her to get betterhousing which didnt aggravate her crippling allergies. Another disabled woman applied to die because she simply cannot afford to keep on living. Another sought euthanasia becauseCovid-related debt left her unable to pay for the treatment which kept her chronic pain bearable under the present government, disabled Canadians got $600in additional financial assistance during Covid; university students got $5,000.

When the family of a 35-year-old disabled man who resorted to euthanasia arrived at the care home where he lived, they encountered urine on the floor spots where there was feces on the floor spots where your feet were just sticking. Like, if you stood at his bedside and when you went to walk away, your foot was literally stuck. According to the Canadian government, the assisted suicide law is about prioritis[ing] the individual autonomy of Canadians; one may wonder how much autonomy a disabled man lying in his own filth had in weighing death over life.

Despite the Canadian governments insistence that assisted suicide is all about individual autonomy, it has also kept an eye on its fiscal advantages. Even before Bill C-7 entered into force, the countrys Parliamentary Budget Officer published a reportabout the cost savings it would create: whereas the old MAID regime saved $86.9 million per year a net cost reduction, in the sterile words of the report Bill C-7 would create additional net savings of $62 million per year. Healthcare, particular for those suffering from chronic conditions, is expensive; but assisted suicide only costs the taxpayer $2,327 per case. And, of course, those who have to rely wholly on government-provided Medicare pose a far greater burden on the exchequer than those who have savings or private insurance.

And yet Canadas lavishly subsidisedmedia, with some honourable exceptions, has expressed remarkably little curiosity about the open social murder of citizens in one of the worlds wealthiest countries. Perhaps, like many doctors, journalists are afraid of being accused of being unprogressive for questioning the new culture of death, a fatal accusation in polite circles. Canadas public broadcaster, which in 2020 reassured Canadians that there was no link between poverty, choosing medically assisted death, has had little to say about any of the subsequent developments.

Next year, the floodgates will open even further when those suffering from mental illness another disproportionately poor group become eligible for assisted suicide, although enthusiastic doctors and nurses have already pre-emptedthe law. There is already talkof allowing mature minors access to euthanasia too just think of the lifetime savings. But remember, slippery slopes are always a fallacy.

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Why is Canada euthanising the poor? - The Spectator

Death is a subject I dont like to linger on I suppose few do, unless by necessity. However, I believe it is good to consider the nature of life and death while we have breath in our lungs.

My own forced reckoning came shortly after I graduated high school 17 years ago, when four of my fellow graduates, and friends, died in quick succession.

Those deaths bombarded me. Youth and naivete offered no protection.

When sorrows come, Shakespeare wrote, they come not single spies but in battalions. Battered, I oscillated between two errors in thinking about death.

My first error was to run from the thought, to put anything else in my mind other than the truth that I would one day die.

There is a saying, popular as recently as a few years ago. You Only Live Once, more commonly known as YOLO. One would normally hear it exclaimed by someone before or in the middle of doing something dangerously risky.

It was used as a defense when told by others that what they are doing is unsafe, or that their actions could have severe consequences on their bodies, as well as the well-being of friends and family, later in life.

The idea is simple: since we live only once, why not live in the moment? That kind of thinking feeds nicely into any lack of commitment to anything that would hinder someone from being completely spontaneous, such as marriage, careers, savings accounts and 401ks, etc.

Earlier generations had another saying, more sophisticated,but materially the same, carpe diem: seize the day.

These statements reveal a sense of hopelessness, not simply because they treat death as cavalier, shunning duty and embracing immediate gratification, but also (and more importantly I believe) because those who are constantly in search of the next best thing to entertain them, to make them happy, will inevitably be unfulfilled with what they found and will invariably go in search of the next until one day there is no next.

Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Right?

Wrong. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Its better to linger at funerals than at bars because funerals remind us that our lives have immense value: they should be cherished, not thrown away needlessly in reckless living.

My second error came as an overcorrection of the first. I thought about death far too often, namely, in wanting to die on my terms, or to die for a good and righteous cause either fighting in a just war against evil or on a mission field far away, doing something bold. If death is inevitable, then I should meet it on my own terms.

While not obvious at first, this idea spurs another discussion also prevalent in our age. Look closely, and youll recognize it in discussions related to euthanasia. Greek for good death, euthanasia is all about one thing: dying in a way one would prefer at least, under the circumstances.

Increasingly popular in the United States, euthanasia is enjoying legal protection under the guise of so-called dying with dignity laws.

Such an intense focus on when we die, controlling the circumstances of our death, and making death easier, detracts from our thinking of the deeper matters of death, especially on the matter of life after death.

Roman citizens were concerned with similar thoughts on death. In 410 A.D., Alaric the Visigoth sacked Rome. Roman citizens, hearing the brutality with which the Visigoths dispatched their victims, did not want to die in such ways.

Augustine reminded his readers in his masterpiece, City of God, that death is the same, no matter if it is brought about after a long life of peace, or in wartime.

His words are a reminder today.

They [] who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death will usher them.

Since death is inevitable, our thoughts should not be so concerned with the way we will die, rather, we should direct our thoughts and actions to the life hereafter, and how our lives will echo after we are gone.

Those overly concerned with the way they will die neglect to cast the proper attention due to the eternal consequence of the lives they live.

Scripture is replete with people who rejoice even amidst suffering and heartache. We do this because we follow Christ, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Knowing where death leads reframes our thinking and discussions on our mortality.

Death, then, remains serious as it should be; and we can still have joy in this life, knowing we will one day die. Because as Christians, we know where death will usher us into.

I dont remember why, but the only funeral of the four I attended was my friend J.J.s.

His death, we all thought, was the most tragic: he left a wife, a young child, and a career to support them. Though tragic in the worlds eyes, the pastor who delivered the eulogy would not let us remember him that way. A tragedy becomes one by how it ends. If this life is all there is, then J.J.s death was tragic.

But we know that all things, including death itself, were conquered in Christ, who died and rose again. J.J. was a man whose actions moved in concert with his public profession of faith. Therefore his death, though still heart-breaking for us, ushered him into the very presence of God, free from all sin and suffering.

And that is no tragedy.

Joseph Hamrick is a semi-professional writer and sometimes thinker. He lives in Commerce and serves as a deacon at Commerce Community Church C3).

He can be reached atjhamrick777@gmail.com

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SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: We live, die only once! - Herald-Banner

The judgment of Kerala High Court quashing a criminal case registered against a village officer for attempting suicide has brought to the fore again the need for decriminalising the offence under Section 309 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court while passing the verdict observed that decriminalisation of attempt to suicide is the general view of courts and legal luminaries. Criminal prosecution followed by conviction and imposing substantive sentences and fine on those convicted of suicidal behaviours are believed to constitute an affront to human dignity.

Justice K. Haripal (since retired) observed that suicidal behaviour was typically a symptom of psychiatric illness or an act of psychological distress, suggesting that the person requires assistance in his personal and psychological life, not punishment with imprisonment or fine.

The Judge said that medical circles also believed that it was not an offence against the State, but on the contrary, the State itself might be indirectly responsible for the plight of the victim who was left with no other alternative but to end his life. From a societal perspective, "decriminalization is a more sensitive and humane way of dealing with the problem compared to prosecution." What was important was to give sociological and psychological support to the victim rather than trying to punish him/her.

The Law Commission in 1971 and 2008 had recommended scrapping of Section 309. Besides, the Supreme Court in Common Cause v. Union of India and another case in 2018 had recommended Parliament consider decriminalising the offence, saying the provision had become anachronistic. It had made the observation while issuing guidelines with respect to passive euthanasia.

The court noted that Section 115(1) of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 says that any person who attempts suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the code. The Act regards a person who attempts suicide as a victim of circumstances and not an offender. The Supreme Court has held that Section 115 which creates a presumption of severe stress has an impact on Section 309.

The petitioner said she attempted suicide under severe stress as she was allegedly abused and pressured by the president of Puthur grama panchayat in Thrissur and the president's henchmen to issue income certificates manually to their men against the office procedure of issuing them online.

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Decriminalise offence of attempt to suicide: HC - The Hindu