Life has never been a place of continuous happiness or continuous joy. Anybody who expects that is a fool. But we cannot ask our babies before they are conceived if they wish to live or not. Therefore any decision made can only be the decision of the parents, or made without choice if there is no access to contraception.
To force children to live in a world of starvation and misery, war, and horror is not the choice of most parents, rather political decisions made by evil leaders of theirs or another country, or by the evil, unequal, capitalist based distribution systems in place globally. Even if your country is as socialist as is possible, it will still be affected by the global greeds and corruptions of the rest of the world.
So parents bring, or not bring their children into the world due to their own desires. I desired children, and in the end I gave birth to five. Each one of them brought me so much joy, and I tried to give them the happiest lives within my power. I did not always succeed, things went wrong , like the breakup of my relationship, him using my children as pawns against me, never quite having enough money, stuff like that. But I always felt responsible, that having chosen to have these children, that I must give them the best start I could and teach them well. I believe I have succeeded in that to the best of my ability.
But I do have regrets. It first hit me, at the time of the Twin Towers, that I had brought my children into a human world that is inherently violent, against each other, against the planet, against the very earth that sustains us. For some years I struggled with the deepest depression, I still do. And my only way out from that, to find any hope at all, turned out to be joining the Green Party of Aotearoa, a political party which abhors war, embraces pacifism, cares for the earth and the people on it. Environment and social care are entertwined, a system that exploits one has the same attitude to the other. I and each of us, must bear responsiblity for the world we bring our children into.
I also deeply believe that each one of us, now that we are here, are entitled to make our own decision about whether we wish to continue with our life. If our life is too much to bear, for whatever reason, we should be entitled to leave it. But only I can make that decision for me, only you can make that decision for you. Just because a person has disabilities does not mean their lives are too much to bear; a perfectly physically able person may have no joy in their life. It is arrogance that decides for another that their life is a nothing, Malthusianism at its most dangerous, it is this perspective that is morally wrong.
I insist on everyone's right to live. I insist on everyone's right to choose the time of their death for whatever reason. And their right to bear or not bear children. But with every right comes responsibility. We are all responsible for the world we live in, and the children that live within it.
This is a very provocative write, one I have spent much time thinking about. By profession, I was a social worker, I suppose I still am although I have allowed my credentials to lapse. Professional ethics required me to intervene in contemplated or ongoing suicidal attempts. Yet we also were required to respect each individual's right to self-determination. For children and young adults, there was no ambiguity. It was my duty to intervene whenever a person wished to die.
ReplyDeleteBut now I see that things are a bit less clear for those who are fully grown adults. Where does my duty lie for a person who does not wish to live for whatever reason. (I agree with the laws in several US states which allow people already dying, e.g. from cancer, to be given a lethal dose of medication and, even, to be helped to take it. IF they so choose.) But, where is my duty to the person physically healthy who wishes to die? Do I intervene to stop them? It is quite easy to do so. And I think I would if a person were standing, for example, on a high cliff, a person about whom I knew nothing, I would attempt to at least find out more. Once the act of suicide is done, it cannot be undone.
But that does not answer your question, or statement. Does each of us have the right to decide whether to continue with our own life? I struggle with this. It is the ultimate right of self-determination. I believe (weakly) that each person has this right, but I would still attempt a non-coersive intervention.
You have focused on the suicide aspect of my thoughts, understandably I think. The idea of allowing people to choose to commit suicide without intervention is not something usually canvassed. It is more normal to see suicide as a tragedy, which it is most of the time I think.
ReplyDeleteBut a woman I knew told me about her daughter who had a difficult to manage mental illness, schizophrenia or bipolar, I am not sure which now. And although some people manage to have a life worth living even with these illnesses, for her it was limiting and frustrating. Everything she tried to do workwise or relationshipwise, the illness got in the way. So she walked into the ocean and drowned, leaving a letter of explanation to her family, who I think had a good inkling of where she was at anyhow. And although she was grieving, her mother respected the daughter's right to make that decision.
So I am speaking of decisions that have been well thought out, where alternatives have been tried and found wanting. I am not speaking of young people or even older people who ate perhaps desperately seeking attention, and to know somebody cares, and who simply lack the skills to negotiate pain. These people do need intervention but I would hope they also receive follow through.
I believe that it is the christian religion that bangs on about the sanctity of life, whether we are speaking about abortion, suicide or voluntary euthanasia. But as a person of no faith, an atheist, this is not my belief and I personally object to other people making their decisions for me, based on their belief in what I think is pure mythology. Stories made up be self righteous, zealous men who wanted to develop and control a church. Let them make their decisions for themselves, let the rest of us choose as we see fit.