Boreal

Assisted Death

Religion's Insufferable Position

… the government has opted to follow much of the advice offered in a dissenting report from the committee’s Conservative MPs and senators, which left official Opposition MPs Thursday with relatively little to complain about.

Ottawa Citizen Apr. 14, 2016

This legislation is not so much about easing suffering but prolonging it, ending it only at the last moment when impending death would make the whole assisted death thing a moot point; prolonging the suffering long enough so that those who consider a lingering agonizing death a reflection of a god's prerogative will have fewer objections ... and it seems to have worked.

Nearly a quarter of those who applied for the assistance died before their evaluation was completed, according to a federal report released Friday.

Ottawa Citizen, October 7, 2017

This is politics and religion at their absolute immoral worse.

To hear religion's objections to assisted death, you would think that humanity's allege invisible friend is a ghastly sadist who likes to see people suffer and that He will end their suffering, of which He is the cause, in His own good time, thank you very much.

All mainstream religions i.e. Christianity, Islam and Judaism are very much in a conflict of interest with their message that there is a psychopath in charge and that it is up to him to decide when we have agonized long enough, and therefore they should stay out of this debate altogether and let reason and compassion guide its outcome.

The reason we are not knee-deep in bacteria is because this single cell microbe reproduces without regard for the environment in which it initially thrives until accumulated filth, mostly its own excrement, causes a massive extinction. I would like to think that we are smarter than bacteria, that we can avoid the fate of the many species that are being snuffed out by our unrestrained population growth.

Unless we do something we too are approaching a massive die-off.

Religion is largely responsible for the looming cataclysm with its message that Judgement Day is near and that god will soon come down to clean up the mess we made.

In the meantime, it expects us to behave like mindless bacterium and not do anything to reduce our contamination of our environment even if, of our own freewill, we want to avail ourselves of the means to limit our ability to conceive. And, when we feel it is time to go and make room for the next generation, avail ourselves of the means that will make it a painless peaceful transition.

All mainstream religions insist that all life and death decisions are the prerogative of a fickle sadistic deity, as if he or she has not given us freewill and the ability to reason to do what is in our own best interest.

Religion will be the death of us all, and not in a good way.

Ottawa Archbishops Against Assisted Death ... Prendergast also said priests would feel it was their duty to try to talk the patient out of it. Ottawa Citizen

Most priests, unlike their superiors in divining the Will of the Almighty, I suspect will be more compassionate and understanding and offer comforting words to those in agony and not try to dissuade them from ending their suffering under their own terms.

Being compassionate is being aware of the suffering of an other and wishing to relieve it. Those who seem to revel in prolonging the suffering of the terminally ill are nothing of the kind.

A long time ago I found myself starring up at a grey sky with rain softly falling on my face. I thought I was going to die. I felt no pain. I was not scared (and I don't know why). I waited for my eyes to close on their own. It was quite lovely when I think about it.

Assisted death for me is making it possible for someone who wishes to end their interminable suffering, to so do while experiencing the pain-free serenity I felt that day when I thought my time had come.

Bernard Payeur