Euthanasia

A Canadian has the nerve to point out the dirty little secret about euthanasia...it is usually done to benefit the caretakers, not the patient (even most who "request" euthanasia are either depressed or feel they don't want to burden others...dependency is the only taboo in our self help society)

But actually he missed the real point: like suicide, school shootings, and other taboo acts, by giving someone a free pass, even if that someone is a depressed overwhelmed caretaker, society sends a message that such things are no longer taboo, and you get copy cat crimes...

But one only has to read the "advertisements" of pro death groups to know that they "scare" people into thinking if they are useless, they should kill themselves...

Of course, euthanasia by stealth is alive and well, as Medpundit and FirstThings points out...

As Smith puts it, “The idea behind futile-care theory goes something like this: In order to honor personal autonomy, if a patient refuses life-sustaining treatment, that wish is sacrosanct. But if a patient signed an advance medical directive instructing care to continue—indeed, even if the patient can communicate that he or she wants life-sustaining treatment—it can be withheld anyway if the doctors and/or the ethics committee believes that the quality of the patient’s life renders it not worth living.”....
In other words, you’re free to choose, as long as your choice is for death.

Translation: It's all about money...

There is a time to live, and a time to die.
Sometimes, a person wants to live and treatment has little hope. Do we "waste" money on them?
There are times to stop extraordinary treatment, and even stop IV's that hurt a person who can still eat and drink on their own.
When there is multisystem failure and end stage disease, that is a time.
When there is terminal cancer, and treatment is unpleasant, that is a time.
But to stop treatment because some "ethics" committee decides your quality of life is not worth living? That is very dangerous.

In the USA, we "expect" everyone to work. This makes it hard for us to care for the sick.
And what makes it worse is the fear of nursing homes.
Nursing home should be just that: Homes.
Alas, instead they are housing of useless people waiting to die, and those working there too often are those who can't get another job, and work for a minimum wage...with understaffing in many homes.

My brother was the one who cared for my mother in nearby elderly housing...it was a burden for him and his wife...because he had flex time and his wife worked part time, they were able to do it, and she lived at home independent til she died.
But my husband chose to return here to the Philippines. If he becomes disabled, he will be cared for by loving relatives.

But with economics requiring both men and women to work, how many can afford to care for a sick child or relative?

Actually, many more than you think...most elderly stay at home with help of family and friends...you just rarely read about it.


The sisters who care for the elderly, like the Little Sisters of the Poor, have a vocation that is rarely mentioned...they indeed are happy, because they don't see the old as useless but as human beings loved by God...