Whose Life is it Anyway?

Active killing should be banned. Passive, non-treatment may be allowed. Palliative care is a must. Examples? Switching off is active, giving injections of lethal material is active. Not rescuscitating an arrested heart is passive. Not giving immuno-globulins or other such life-saving chemicals is passive. Palliative care looks after pain, and nausea, makes death comfortable.

The situation is as worse here in Pakistan, where hospitals are almost invariably one of the most inhuman places. In general people have ceased to trust doctors due to their unethical almost beastly attitude. In Pakistan most of the population is not eligible to get ill or injured as it can not bear the expenses of treatment. However even those who can bear it remain in an state of hospital phobia as the places are notorious for their brilliant ability to make money from death and disease.

That’s why a living will is an important document. One should be able to express his/her wishes of whether or not to be put on life-support in case that state comes upon. It will take all the legal, moral, ethical nuts and bolts out of it. For mentally incapacitated patients, the family members should be able to make such a decision.

Life support machine might be the single most useless equipment ever to have been invented. It is sad to see 98 year old folks being kept alive only to have their misery prolonged.

I agree with the good Doctor. Let them go.