Apparantly you can now pick up a card, a bit like a donor card, except instead of giving up your organs, you give up life. In other words, if you’re in a horrific accident and your life can only be supported by machines, carrying this card is a predetermined declaration that you do not want to be on life-support, thus choosing the right to die.

It’s a tricky subject. People should be allowed to die if there is absolutely no lease of life, no chance of living normally ever again. I’m not sure I’m one of those people though. Being an athiest (and I don’t want to bring in too much religion into this - it’ll be a very long post and I don’t have the time or patience for it), I don’t believe in an afterlife. You know when you sleep and you wake again and have no memory of the bit in between. No dreams, just a blank void. That, to me, is what death is going to be like. It’s a terrifying thought, and one I doubt I’ll ever shrug off (you can’t exactly face you fears with this one, can you?). So, to me, even if I cannot live my life, I would think I would want to stay alive regardless. One shot and all that. If I’m capable of making a choice, I would like to. If not, I’m not sure I want a piece of card with a lime-coloured stickman yelling “NO!” to make the decision for me.

I think that people don’t know what they want. Imagine you had been saving for an Playstation 3 for months, then once you get to the shop, you suddenly decide to buy a Nintendo Wii instead. People change their minds, especially at the last minute. And considering they could really be having their last minute and despite being unable to communicate, they suddenly decide they want to live, but can’t due to the contents of their wallet or purse. As much as I’d hate to be a burden on my loved ones to keep me on life-support if I should ever get in such a situation, I may want to live. But then again, I may want to die. The main problem is I don’t know. I refuse to believe people, fit and healthy people, know themselves.

You simply can’t predict how you’ll feel on that hospital bed. I don’t think you can say now, what you will want, if and when you end up that way. As much as I believe people should have the right to choose whatever they want, this choice should not be theirs. The decision should fall on the doctors and your loved ones. It’s not a pleasurable decision to give them and you can let them know how you feel about life-support machines. But if they want you to live, stop pretending to be noble and dignified. There is no nobility or dignity in it. It’s ugly and no card will change that. Live for them. If they feel it’s best to let you go, then they’re doing what they think is right. Not what you had decided years ago was right. It always boils down to the given situation and you’ll need a lot of cards to cover them all.

Carrying a “right to die” card doesn’t make you brave. Should the time come to use it, it’s the loved ones who need to be brave. Death is a cruel game, but that’s life.

Hmm… that seemed far too heavy and serious. Ok, a priest and a monkey walk into a bar…