Dr Francis Macnab gave an address on Sunday May 2nd “More on Dying with Dignity –  How we choose to live, How we choose to die.”.  A copy is available on request, St Michael’s Uniting Church at 120 Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000 –  on either DVD ($10) or CD ($8.50) plus $2 postage. Email: office@stmichaels.org.au

I took notes as Dr Macnab spoke and I recalled his message along these lines with my own interpretation interwoven.

It is good to live a life that is full and expansive.   People tend to go to ‘experts’ when they require solid foundations on which to base their decisions.  We may go to a dentist, that we’ve used for years and they may make the pronouncement that “our teeth should be removed, rather than waste time and effort in maintaining them”….We may be dissatisfied with that ‘expert’  opinion and seek another one to meet our needs about what we feel is best for us,  at the time…..

Our ‘end of life’ choices are a bit like that!

Death is final though! We will only die the once!   But the dying process is made as a result of our choices.    Abortion too holds the ramifications resulting in major choices in our lives.   We make decisions based on our own needs, health reasons, siblings, and society’s expectations of us. (I was reminded of a doco that advised that 4000 Irish women and girls travelled to England in a single year to have an abortion because it was illegal in Ireland.)   Self/v/pressures.

Dr Macnab spoke of a 92 year old in fine form who could easily live for another twenty years – but he also knew of a 95 yo in decline – body functioning as appropriately an aged body could, but the brain had shut down.   His family cared! But after a full and good life he had a bad death deprived of dignity.

What is dignity? What is indignity?

People are living longer but at great personal cost them in terms of how the ageing process is dealt with.   Living longer is also coming at great cost to the Health System.

Kept alive, suspended living,  – suspending dying?  A type of survival?

Medically assisted living – with pace makers, feeding tubes, prosthesis   - take them away and death results.

Families could care “more”, but recently families are sometimes more dysfunctional themselves.   The Health System simply cannot cater for the individual needs of every single Australian.  The carers who protect the interests of the chronically ill, are just one group, crying out for support.  Choice must be a rational alternative consideration to the prolonged dying which is the current preferred model of dealing with aged care with it overwhelming health needs.

SAGE a group within St Michaels that deals with the trials of ageing, had 20 members some years ago, but today it has 120 attendees.   Afraid of deterioration, they seek support in how to deal with the inevitability of death.

“Respectful, Rational and Rightly” the authorities will deal with you.  “They’ll hose you down, prop you up and feed you!”   “They’ll close their eyes to the anxiety you feel, and if you become too agitated, they’ll restrain you with drugs to prevent the trashing around, and THEN WE DIE.”

How we cope with our living indicates how we will cope with the dying.  In living we make rational decisions in our daily lives – but in the dying process, rationality can seem to disappear in what is the best choice to make.  There can be no rationality in maintaining a life that has actually died in the true sense of the meaning “to live”.

Palliative care does not relieve pain in some individuals and excising choice is a rational option to prevent prolonged dying – when it is not rational  to permit suffering indefinitely!

Dr Macnab spoke of a man with collapsed arteries – who chose to have high risk surgery.  The patient wanted to take the chance! Live a bit longer! He did survive the surgery.  On waking up, the man’s first question was “Who won the football?”   His anxiety had been relieved! The reality was the ‘doctors had won’…you were injured and now you are healed for another day….We deal with anxiety is curious ways.

On another matter:

The three major religions are very strong on violence and cruelty.   So much conflict is propagated. (not actually named but I assumed Islam, Christian and Jewish)  They certainly spring into my mind as violent and cruel in their methods of ‘control’.

The Catholic’s Pope John Paul 2^nd used his influence and power to block any opportunity for intelligent change in doctrine.    To deny suffering in oneself is to devalue God if not accepted with grace.  The religions are great at creating a fear of dying because of the consequences you’ve made while living!  Delay death at all costs because the hereafter may well be worse for you (?)

Also to be considered:

In Victoria we have 85% of Victorians who want to see changes made to the Medical Treatment Act to update and include modern medical technologies.   The problem is that the majority of those 85% are silent when it comes to talking to their politicians and the Right to Life are a noisy though minimal lobby group!  Those people need to be much more vocal in highlighting their concerns about a lack of choice when it comes to end of life decisions for themselves!

Frightened politicians must accept the realities of fact that religious belief systems, with education, are no longer relevant! (ain’t that the truth?)

We must develop a humane society that respects our human rights – It is a social concern that must be addressed.

Several thousand of Melbournians commit suicide each year – yet rarely do we hear a discussion about those figures.

However –  when rational argument is attempted for Physician Assisted Dying for the terminally and chronically ill – then the Pro Life appear in force.

Pro Choice needs to be much more vocal to their politicians as SILENCE is NOT the way it will work.

Being respectful, rational and right about how we choose to live and die should be the right of all Victorians to make their Parliamentarian representatives vote accordingly for CHOICE!