When we must defend the right to life? When we must show that our life may yet be worthy of life, that we are worth fighting for, that they should not give up on us?
With the introduction of the LCP, killing
has become a ‘legal’ therapy!
The concern to respect the wishes of the living and of those who wish to live
has become second to that of the dying and those who wish to die.
The right to life and the desire to preserve life has been overtaken by the
right to death and the desire to promote death as a preferable outcome.
The Death Cult has seized power in this land. They wish to impose the right to die and to deny the right to live.
The Quislings have taken charge. It
is their right to decide our fate. They do not admire bravery in the face of
insurmountable odds. They prefer it that we just lay down and die, that we
submit rather than struggle to live.
Steven Thorpe was declared brain dead. Steven’s
family refused to give up. Despite four specialists maintaining there was no
hope, they refused to switch off life-support and insisted on another opinion. They would not give up. That decision and persistence by Steven’s family saved
his life.
Fortunately for Steven, he was just
17. Such matters do weigh in your favour when medical decisions are being taken.
In Oklahoma,
The law prohibits health care providers from making medical decisions based on the assumption that “extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual (is) of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, non-disabled, or not terminally ill.” - KHN
In the NHS, there is an unwritten law
supporting this perspective.
The self-appointed demigods deem it their right and prerogative to make value
judgements upon our quality of life.
Like little Neros, they give us the the thumbs up or the thumbs down to live or
to die.
Frustrated playwrights, they will write us off, for we are but characters cast
upon their page; it is for them, they say, to determine our worth and salt.
Value judgements of another's life should not be the domain of the doctor; it
is not the place of medical staff – neither State appointee, nor for anyone
else – to say that this is a life not worthy of life, either by comparison or
degree, nor by absolute definition.
This is not the 1930s. This is not Nazi Germany. We must never go there
again.
The widow of a man at the centre of a right to life battle hopes to overturn a decision that allowed doctors to withhold treatment from him.
May James, from Fazakerley, took her case to the highest court of appeal The Supreme Court of Appeal today, trying to get a previous decision over her late husband’s care torn up.
In December, Fazakerley Hospital won a case against David James’ family, giving them to right to withhold lifesaving treatments.
The dad-of-three, who was a well-known musician in Liverpool, died 10 days later of a massive heart attack.
But Mrs James has always been determined to get the decision quashed because it sets a precedent to other hospitals who can call on the decision when faced with similar disputes with families.
Speaking after day one of her two-day appeal hearing, Mrs James, 67, who had been married to her husband for more than 50 years, said: “At the moment if doctors feel that a treatment is ‘futile’ then they don’t have to give it. Not just at this hospital but all hospitals.
“I feel if I get this overturned, it’s a bit of justice for what Dave went through and what he shouldn’t have gone through.
“I know it isn’t going to help Dave but it could help other families. This affects all of us.”
Further
reading –
The High Contracting Parties shall secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section I of this Convention.
- Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
- Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
- (a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
- (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent escape of a person lawfully detained;
- (c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.
The intentional withholding of medical treatment designed to
preserve life clearly contravenes Article 2 of the ECHR.
Physicians,
politicians, do not surrender so easily the right to life, for life is always
precious and living matters -
"If I should ever seek death - there are several times when my progressive condition challenges me - I want to guarantee that you are there supporting my continued life and its value. The last thing I want is for you to give up on me, especially when I need you most."
- Lady Jane Campbell
Don't Give Up
In this proud land we grew up strong,
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win,
I never thought I could fail
No fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face,
I've changed my name
But no-one wants you when you lose
Don't give up
Cos you have friends
Don't give up,
You're not beaten yet
Don't give up,
I know you can make it good
Though I saw it all around,
Never thought that I could be affected
Thought that we'd be last to go,
It is so strange the way things turn
Drove the night toward my home
The place that I was born, on the lakeside
As daylight broke, I saw the earth
The trees had burned down to the ground
Don't give up,
You still have us
Don't give up,
We don't need much of anything
Don't give up
Cause somewhere there's a place where we belong
Rest your head,
You worry too much
It's going to be alright
When times get rough
You can fall back on us,
Don't give up, please don't give up
Got to walk out of here,
I can't take any more
Going to stand on that bridge,
Keep my eyes down below
Whatever may come
And whatever may go
That river's flowing,
That river's flowing
Moved on to another town,
Tried hard to settle down
For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs
Don't give up
Cos you have friends
Don't give up,
You're not the only one
Don't give up,
No reason to be ashamed
Don't give up,
You still have us
Don't give up now,
We're proud of who you are
Don't give up,
You know its never been easy
Don't give up
Cos I believe there's a place
There's a place where we belong.
- Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel
