Medical Assistance in Living and Medical Assistance in Dying are two issues challenging daily, not only our medical professionals, our politicians, our clergy, philosophers, and of course, individuals, but our humanity as a whole.
This is nothing new in the world of course, however we have developed skills, created chemicals, discovered cures, and conceived ways to help us live, continue to live, and ultimately, help us die. And in so doing, have raised, as yet not answered questions, concerning whether we ought to or ought not to be doing MAiL (playing with genes, hormones, invitro to start a life) and MAiD and palliative care where we can inject pain and mind-numbing chemicals to extend a life beyond usefulness and desire and then poof!
Lest we get above ourselves thinking this is a unique trait of homo sapiens, remember that our other inhabitants of this world also, naturally, if I can use that word, assist each other in Living and in some cases, assist their society in dying. It is common to see the parents of critters feeding their young but also teaching them to forage and survive for themselves. In many cases, members of that ‘society’ of a species help raise the next generation for the common well-being.
Here I go with the ducks again, but a family of mallards that I have been watching at the lake has one duckling with a bad leg – either damaged or from a defect at birth. The duckling can swim along with others but when they come ashore for a change in diet, it cannot walk but must hop and drag its limb.
You and I know this little duck is not going to make it once they start flying and escaping from predators. And yet, I have noticed that when said duckling rests on the sandy beach, one of its siblings will come and lie down close beside it. They exchange duck words and then take the prescribed nap – mom duck watching over them lest an unleashed dog approach.
A runt of litter does not always make it, as we well know, but there can be a social attempt to help the smallest puppy or the last piglet to the teat. We humans, with our skills, can do more, making, for instance, a crutch for our little one who has a bad leg. We can concoct and apply potions, and mix drinks of vitamins, herbs, and eye-of-newt to assist in recoveries.
At the other end of the time spectrum are wonderful anecdotes about the old taking themselves off to some quiet place to die, relieving the community of the burden of care. Elephant graveyards are one such story or myth. Vikings and Eskimos sail off, flaming into the sunset or riding away on an ice floe! Wow, so much better than being eaten by wolves.
The current problem with MAiL and MAiD is that we have loaded so many of these responsibilities onto the medical profession. Teaching them about some supposed ‘sanctity of life’ as prescribed by ancient clergies, and aided by scientific ‘cures’, the medical profession tries to keep us alive from birth to after our best-before date. Muddying the water is the politics of tribe and the financial restraints of housing the ill until they recover or perish.
The term sanctity of life is defined in Wikipedia as: “the idea that human life is sacred, holy, and precious. Although the phrase was used primarily in the 19th century in Protestant discourse, since World War II the phrase has been used in Catholic moral theology and, following Roe v. Wade, Evangelical Christian moral rhetoric.” One might question if this gift of life from the Divinity is so sacred, should we be tinkering with it at all – MAiL and MAiD.
Added to those issues are the individuals whose needs, they feel, outweigh those of their society. However, we are not yet able to say to others (or ourselves) that we do not need more babies in this overpopulated world, or that it is quite permissible to opt out of living for your own reasons. This, coupled with our inability to solve mental illness or disorders, and to provide fully for those who cannot look after themselves, without using drugs, or hallucinogens, has left us with social problems – worldwide.
Unintentional consequences also arise when we use god-like skills and treatments to keep someone alive, albeit in a repaired condition, and they continue to survive using medical resources and dollars into their dotage. Had Mom nature taken its course, that person would have naturally ceased. And so, the medical profession creates more business for itself. Not to say this isn’t the honourable thing to do, but when we look at the problems in health care, maybe MAiL is one issue in our overloaded system.
The first step may simply be to remove the ‘Medical’ from Assistance in Living and Assistance in Dying. We have overburdened that profession with the responsibility of creating a society that cannot exist without it. We all realize that without that MAiL most of us would not be here. So scratch that and only take the Medical out of MAiD. Let us, without guilt, be able to take a clean exit when we want to.
Wait. Is there any ‘clean and easy’ way out? I thought not. We incarcerate people for even thinking about that. Maybe, like that little lame duckling, we will face termination when the time comes. Just saying. Have a nice day. Don’t forget to pick up your prescriptions.
