Conversation With The Nondisabled (A Poem On Assisted Dying)
All views expressed in this post are personal
Conversation With the Nondisabled
I
See my life as my life
My life is not perfect
No one said it was
But my life is my life.
It’s been like this for ever
The only life I’ve ever
Had.
Would I change it?
Some things, sometimes.
Wouldn’t you
Sometimes change yours too?
Would I end it before I have to?
Never.
I
Wonder why
You
See my life as a fate worse than death.
You
See little value in my breath.
You
Give me the same value as your pet.
Is that all I get?
I
Am not your pet.
Death
Is a fate worse than my life.
Death is a thief.
It steals sons and daughters, husbands and wives.
It steals dreams, it causes haunting screams.
Your
Death is a tragedy.
Your
Murder a terrible crime.
I know that.
But I
Wonder why
You
Don’t see the thought of my death as a tragedy.
You
Want to write my murder into our laws.
As if I was your pet.
I
Fought so many for my rights to life.
I
Left my friends to study at your schools.
I
Fought for the chance to swim in your pools.
I
Fought to watch a movie on my hero.
So I
Wonder why
You
Value my life at zero.
You
Tell me it’s about choice.
I
Choose to live.
I
Am not your pet.
I
Am my pet’s owner.
You
Don’t forget.
Would you
Like your murder to be legal
If you stayed as you are today?
Well I
Am just like you.
I
Am a person too.
Same Difference 
I understand and sympathise with the sentiment behind this poem. But assisted dying is only to be made available to those who want it because they cannot bear the pain and suffering of their terminal condition. Disabled people quite rightly take offence when non-disabled people assume they are suffering just because they’re disabled. So there is a line to be drawn between suffering and disability, a line that disabled people understand. Why then oppose something that will put an end to another’s suffering if that’s what they want?
Suicide for those who cannot bear to live, possibly for emotional reasons, is not illegal, why should assisted dying be illegal? Because the person no longer has the ability to kill themselves? Of course, there are anxieties about abuse by carers and others and so safeguards are important.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would wish to die when the time comes for me to die, I wish no one to end my life, I want to live every minute even in pain. I think about my relatives and friends, even if they do have to care for you, to shorten the time they have with you, isn’t really fair, I think and you will never know what you will miss or for a time you will get better and enjoy it more. I haven’t had the easiest life, but I am determined to enjoy all of it no matter what happens, I think if people are well cared for and supported and loved and have a different outlook they might think differently about life, and yes I am disabled and know how hard life can get. Also I could not ask anyone to help me to die I could not put that burden on anybody else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The fear with any law allowing Assisted Dying is around how long it will be before doctors stop recognising the difference between terminal illness and disability and start approving assisted dying for the severely disabled.
Also what about the terminally ill who outlive the time the doctors give them?
LikeLike
yes I know what you mean what if it is someone with learning disabilities or mental illnesses and then the doctor decides that you can’t make a desion on your life, it does become like a pet at the vets, soon families won’t get a say, and then people will get done for not euthanizing a person. The poor person is having their life took away and all the while despite pain and difficulties they may not want their life to end. they may not know how to tell you.
It can cause more distress in a lot more people than it will save in a few people who want it.
But the moral question too, is it right to ask someone to kill you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think it’s right to ask someone else to kill you and could never ask that of anyone I love.
LikeLike
You may not think it is right to ask someone to kill you and that’s fine – it’s an individual moral choice. But if there was such a law, it wouldn’t oblige you to opt for assisted killing. It would only facilitate those who wanted it.
LikeLiked by 1 person