Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
I think we're letting ourselves live too long with no opportunity for a reasonable quality of life.
I remember my friend's grandma in her 90s telling us, 'you don't want to reach my age...all your friends are dead.'
I remember my uncle saying about his mom how he'd put a pillow over her head 'if he loved her more' once she lost her marbles due to dimentia.
My wife's grandma had signed a do not recussitate order, but ended up recussitated in the hospital before the order had made its way into the medical system. She was so fataing mad to have to keep living with her crappy health. She was crying, 'what am I doing here?'
Out of compassion, we don't let dogs and cats live in the same conditions we guilt the elderly into existing with for years on end.
Basically, once someone becomes a great grandparent they are redundant, super old, not relevant and they know it. I've yet to talk to one that isn't ready to go. Very few thrive in these old folks homes. They're just pergatories.
It also costs a fortune to keep these people in their barely-alive condition, takes a ton of resources and is ill-conceived. The kindest thing we could do is provide access to euthanasia and let people call it a day easily and without guilt.
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The law around Medically Assisted Death is evolving in Canada. Right now you cant say in a Health Directive that you would be in favor of this I the future. You can only make the decision at the relevant time if you are competent and meet all the other criteria. Those situations are rare - most people are not competent when the time comes.
I think the law will be expanded in the direction of allowing for future planning for this.