If I have a right to
live, why shouldn’t I have a right to die? Actually thoughts like this race
through my mind a lot especially when the issue of Euthanasia (mercy Killing)
is debated….Yeah…. E.U.T.H.A.N.S.I.A! As there are people awaiting trial in
prisons, there are also people awaiting death…and I can only imagine how
terrible either case is! Waiting is never easy! I particularly hate to wait!
But life would always teach us to wait for something… Whether it’s waiting for
a bus, a friend, a life partner, a baby, a promotion or even a job, it’s never
easy! Doesn’t the Bible Say that Hope
deferred makes the heart sick! How terrible it would seem for those who
have to wait in pain for their Death Day!
And yet, the law doesn’t give them the right to die….
I honestly prefer to
remain reticent on issues like Abortion, Euthanasia and the likes but hey! What
better place do I have to release my thoughts than on paper (or well, yeah, my
blog). There’s no gainsaying that people take the issue of Death really
personally and most people fear death.
Not me! Yeah! I’ve never feared to die!
I actually grew up with the consciousness of death. I remember that as a child, anytime I saw the
pain and confusion in my parent’s eyes, I’ll start praying to die so that my
folks can be relieved. By age 16, I had written out my epitaph. I had beautiful
thoughts of my burial and how beautiful my tomb would be with those words
written on it (That reminds me, I should find the journal I wrote it in).
Seriously, the thought of my death and burial made me smile. I had a crisis in
my final year in the University that tarried for a while and I was sure I was
going to die…As I saw my classmates and even
lectures troop in each day, My heart gladdened at the number of people to be
recorded at my burial *smile*. Rather than stay in a hospital bed
wailing in pain and stressing my folks, I thought it was better to die and go
to Heaven…a Place where there’s neither pain nor tears.
Assuming the pain a sickler
experiences is minute and for a short period, what can we say of a person who
had an accident and becomes paralyzed from head to toe, he can no longer do anything
for himself and to make matters worse, Doctors say nothing can be done about
the situation*smh* I do
believe in miracles but how long can a person wait? Sometimes, the victim is a
complete vegetable and the family is left to continually spend time and energy
catering for the victim endlessly. I wouldn’t want to go into all the bitter cases
on Euthanasia I know of in this piece but I must say that I can’t understand
why some countries totally criminalize it. I hail countries like Netherlands that
permits euthanasia under strict conditions…but for most countries, it remains a
crime.*Smh*
The most prevailing
argument on issues like this is religious but I’m yet to find superior argument. In my opinion, the most superior argument
against Euthanasia is palliative care. If the terminally ill can find people
who really love, care and give hope upon hope, Perhaps they wouldn’t want to
die… But alas! In Nigeria, my Nigeria where I’m almost sure there’s a dearth of
such centers (yes! centers cause friends and family will surely get tired!),
why wouldn’t one rather elect death? Hey preacher, don’t start the sermon! Yeah
yeah! God gives and God takes; only God has the right to take a life bla bla! I
need a preacher to preach it right to me in a language I’ll understand. But for
now, here’s what I believe: If I have a right to life, I should have a right to
die. Even God has given us the power of choice and He says in his word, I set before you life and death…choose…
(See Deuteronomy 30:19) Apparently, the choice is ours!
And hey! Before you
start getting all emotional and judgmental, it’s my right to choose and I
choose life! *wink*
Happy living all!
PS:
After writing this piece, I had a dream...and God told me via that dream that He is a God that steps in in the nick of time.
Next, he gave me a Rhema! Please check it out in Mark 12:24….I’m humbled Lord,
help me…
