Thursday, November 19, 1998
Letters
Prolonging death not fair, dignified
Eric Achtyes’s experience with handicapped children gives him no
platform from which to address terminal illness ("Terminally ill
should live life to the fullest," Viewpoint, Nov. 13).
The handicapped have lost certain faculties, but still have the
potential to lead full and enriching lives.
Terminal illness entails that medicine has no ability to reverse
the decline into death. I have worked with children with less than
six months to live. They are still able to encounter new situations
and fulfill dreams.
Yet, they will eventually become unable to experience the simple
miracles of life. The frustration of physical deterioration will
conclude in the entombment of an active mind within an
unresponsive, pain-wracked prison.
Medical technology gives us the ability to artificially prolong
this torture. I applaud my grandfather’s wisdom in choosing not to
do so. He died a dignified death in his own bed, with his family at
hand to attend to his last wishes. He was allowed to reflect on his
life in his own house and have meaningful interaction with those he
loved. He was not forced to endure further medical indignity.
Why Achytes would want him to suffer through an artificially
extended existence is beyond my comprehension.
Vijay Goel
Third-year
Physiological science
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