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To be or not to be
Mar. 22nd, 2005 09:23 amI've been hearing a lot about the Terri Schiavo case lately. I haven't read up on it that much, although what I have read makes me lean towards the "let her die" end of things, it is by no means a greatly informed decision. I definitely think that people should have the right to die if they so desire it, the Schiavo case just seems muddled.
That's all peripheral, though. What it's gotten me thinking about is what I would want done if I were in a similar situation. On the one hand, if I'm definitely brain dead, I don't see the point in sticking around as a rutabaga, but on the other, it would be really stupid if my life support was terminated only to have a cure discovered shortly afterwards. One of the things that bugs me about the whole idea is when people talk about the person being forced to live while suffering. If the person's brain function is gone, I don't see them as suffering, or feeling much of anything for that matter, they're just meat. So that's not a consideration in my view, at least, not as applies to me. I guess what I'll probably end up doing is agreeing to life support, but with a time limit. That way, I can stick around for a few years or so just in case science comes up with something that can fix me, but after a reasonable time, they can pull the plug, if nothing's happening.
I'll have to discuss this with my wife, and we'll have to work up some kind of living will thing. I'm definitely not a DNR kind of guy, I want to live for as long as possible, and resuscitation can work on occasion, but if I'm alive but not functioning cognitively, it may as well be ended.
That's all peripheral, though. What it's gotten me thinking about is what I would want done if I were in a similar situation. On the one hand, if I'm definitely brain dead, I don't see the point in sticking around as a rutabaga, but on the other, it would be really stupid if my life support was terminated only to have a cure discovered shortly afterwards. One of the things that bugs me about the whole idea is when people talk about the person being forced to live while suffering. If the person's brain function is gone, I don't see them as suffering, or feeling much of anything for that matter, they're just meat. So that's not a consideration in my view, at least, not as applies to me. I guess what I'll probably end up doing is agreeing to life support, but with a time limit. That way, I can stick around for a few years or so just in case science comes up with something that can fix me, but after a reasonable time, they can pull the plug, if nothing's happening.
I'll have to discuss this with my wife, and we'll have to work up some kind of living will thing. I'm definitely not a DNR kind of guy, I want to live for as long as possible, and resuscitation can work on occasion, but if I'm alive but not functioning cognitively, it may as well be ended.
