Mercy Killings

Patrick just sent me a link to the following article:

Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer stands by his decision to end the life of his severely disabled daughter almost 20 years ago, in his first interview since being released on full parole in December. . . "I know I was right," Latimer, 57, declares.

Tracy, 12, had severe cerebral palsy, and suffered chronic pain from repeated surgeries. She couldn't walk, talk, or feed herself. The decision to end her suffering was hard "but it was not sad," said Latimer, who has always insisted his "mercy killing" asphyxiation was motivated by his love and compassion for Tracy. . . In 1994, he was convicted of second-degree murder, but the jury described his crime as a "mercy killing" and recommended a one-year sentence. The judge at Latimer's trial, in an attempt to distinguish "compassionate homicide" from murder, granted him a constitutional exemption from any mandatory sentence. After several appeals, the exemption was thrown out, and Latimer was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

I will not presume even to be able to imagine what it must feel like to see one's child suffering on a daily basis. I don't want to be in any way judgmental of people who can't deal with witnessing the unrelieved and constant pain of a loved one. Who knows how one would act in such a horrible situation? Who knows what any one of us might be driven to as a result?

However, there is something in this situation that makes me suspect Latimer of being driven not as much by his love for his daughter and his desire to relieve her suffering as by his love for himself and his desire to relieve his own suffering. A person driven to such desperation that they engage in a mercy killing of their child will probably see that as the defining and the darkest moment of their life. Even if they were convinced that they had done the best thing possible for their child, wouldn't they still care about the child's death more than about the consequences they suffered as a result?

Latimer, however, seems a lot more centered on the perceived injustice that was done to him and not on the suffering and the death (at his hands, too) of his daughter:

But the soft-spoken farmer sees his case differently, and harbours deep anger towards the Canadian justice system, and against those who dare judge him. "They're just a bunch of arrogant, self-righteous, religious-backed people. They don't care about Tracy," he said. "They're just a bunch of sadistic butchers, really. They have to come clean on that. What is the legal alternative that we were supposed to take by law?" . . .  Latimer said he feels branded, and often dreams of a new trial by jury, convinced that another judicial review of his case would perhaps produce a different verdict, and clear his name. 

There is so much anger here against the justice system, and very little concern for a child who lived a short and tortured existence and has now been dead for a very long time. As I said, I don't presume to know what it feels like to kill a loved one to end their suffering. But wouldn't a person driven to such an act care a lot less than Latimer about another trial, clearing his name, or anything like that?

P.S. Thank you, Patrick! What would I do without my readers?

Hating and Fearing Doctors

I wonder why so many people are driven to extremely unreasonable actions that often put their own lives at risk by their inexplicable dread of doctors. This is a sentiment that hugely inspires the whole home-birth movement. Home-birthing websites indulge in endless fantasies about doctors going to incredible lengths to harm the woman and her child during the process of childbirth. Why any doctor would want to harm a patient is never explained.

The same sentiment informs Ross Douthat's latest article on voluntary euthanasia. The journalist creates images of plug-pulling doctors who are happy to end lives of sick patients. Why doctors would want to kill off people indiscriminately remains a mystery. Everybody knows that a doctor whose patients keep dying all over the place will not be very successful in her chosen field. As in any profession, there might be all kinds of maniacs among doctors, but for the most part, doctors want to save lives and not end them.

Douthat's dislike of the concept of euthanasia is not limited to his distrust of doctors. His main enemies - here as well as in every other aspect of human life - are freedom and choice. In euthanasia, Douthat says, "the goal is perfect autonomy, perfect control, and absolute freedom of choice." And for him, these are very bad things. God forbid people should have any rights over deciding what happens to their own bodies.

It's curious how the hatred of the medical profession brings together such unlikely groups as rabid conservatives and feminists. The feminist belief in the woman's right to her own body sometimes degenerates into the unhealthy idea that it's ok to deprive women of quality healthcare during childbirth. I'm sure Douthat's hatred of women would lead him to support home-birthers.

The Right to Die

By now, everybody must have heard the story of Sir Edward and Lady Downes who committed suicide together. Lady Downes was suffering from terminal cancer and her husband decided that he didn't want to live without his wife. The New York Times reports: "Although friends who spoke to the British news media said Sir Edward was not known to have been terminally ill, they said he wanted to die with his ailing wife, who had been his partner for more than half a century."

I agree completely with Dr. Tuteur who says: "I applaud Sir Edward and Lady Downes for having the strength of character and purpose to make their own most intimate decisions and carry them through. And I have deep respect and admiration for the intense love that makes surviving alone an unbearable prospect." Respect for people should include respect for their desire to end their lives. One's own life belongs to no one but to the individual living it. If a person decides to end his or her life, we have no right to question this decision or to try and stop them. This is the most intimate act one can engage in and society needs to butt out of it.