A Letter to the Editor of the Newspapers in Toronto sent by A Parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church – I share the same opinion:
With all of the recent talk about euthanasia and giving people the right to kill others who may be terminally ill, suffering from chronic depression or simply unable to speak for themselves, if we as a society are really and truly concerned about preserving human dignity and offering compassionate care and support, we should rather be focusing on improving palliative care, and psychological and spiritual/emotional support options.
Speaking from experience, I have painfully but lovingly stood vigil with both my mother and father at their hospital bedsides in their last days before passing away. These difficult situations were indeed stressful but I can honestly say, also filled with deep love, respect and compassion for dying loved ones (which of course was shared by the medical and social work team as well). At times when pain started to become an issue, doctors and nurses where able to quickly and effectively administer pain management therapy to make this a non-issue, and a poor excuse to mercy killing. I cherish the memories of the last loving days and hours spent with my parents, and expressing nothing but love and kindness in ways that words simply cannot express.
So before we decide to legally allow the intentional killing of our most vulnerable citizens, let’s please give some really serious thought to how we can better extend palliative care and other treatment options which indeed offer the most compassionate care abd respect for human dignity, and life itself.
