B
Bluegoat
Guest
When we consider what are extrodinary means, it really depends on the circumstances. Is a ventilator extrodinary? Well, for a person who needs it temporarily on the road o recovery, no. For someone who is dying, it might be.
We talk about respect for life, but I think that can be misleading; there is also respect for death. Both are part of respect for human dignity. There can come a point when putting a person through procedures to prolong life becomes disrespectful of that person’s human dignity - it begins to treat that person as a kind of living piece of meat or a machine rather than someone who will live and die as we all do.
And it will always require judgement to discern the difference. Even a person who is concious and rational can make such a mistake in treating himself that way, perhaps because of fear of death. When family or loved ones have to make the decision they can be wrong because they are unable to face death, or because they see only the living person they know and love and can’t see beyond that. So it is possible for family members to miss the point when doing more is not the best decision.
I am surprised by those that say that we always treat grown up people suffering from things we could treat. Very often people refuse further treatment. A person with cancer is told that he will have a year with intense treatment, 6 months without. What will that year or six months look like? Well, the year will be very uncomfortable, in hospital, at risk for all kinds of infections, in pain and possibly under the influence of pain meds. The six months will be home, with palliative care, pain and pain meds near the end.
I don’t think either answer is wrong, but it seems to me life at all costs is not as obvious as some might make it seem.
We talk about respect for life, but I think that can be misleading; there is also respect for death. Both are part of respect for human dignity. There can come a point when putting a person through procedures to prolong life becomes disrespectful of that person’s human dignity - it begins to treat that person as a kind of living piece of meat or a machine rather than someone who will live and die as we all do.
And it will always require judgement to discern the difference. Even a person who is concious and rational can make such a mistake in treating himself that way, perhaps because of fear of death. When family or loved ones have to make the decision they can be wrong because they are unable to face death, or because they see only the living person they know and love and can’t see beyond that. So it is possible for family members to miss the point when doing more is not the best decision.
I am surprised by those that say that we always treat grown up people suffering from things we could treat. Very often people refuse further treatment. A person with cancer is told that he will have a year with intense treatment, 6 months without. What will that year or six months look like? Well, the year will be very uncomfortable, in hospital, at risk for all kinds of infections, in pain and possibly under the influence of pain meds. The six months will be home, with palliative care, pain and pain meds near the end.
I don’t think either answer is wrong, but it seems to me life at all costs is not as obvious as some might make it seem.