About euthanasia
Poland was shocked. It was the first time. The first time when somebody went to court to ask for his freedom to die – for euthanasia. It was two weeks before his eighteenth birthday. Motorbikes were his greatest passion. And the accident as many that happen with motorbikes. He became paralysed – from his neck to his feet. “The Pope was able to say: do not artificially sustain my life. I was not able to say that because I was unconscious. I would have done if I had known my life would be like this. But I couldn’t. When a patient becomes joined to the respirator, he has no freedom to say «Stop», he loses all his rights”. Two weeks after the accident, when he came of age, he asked the anaesthetist to switch off the machine. But of course the doctor couln’t do it and nobody could because of the law. Now he is 32. After 14 years of living the life we can’t really imagine, he is asking again. He has asked not to sustain his life when one of his parents dies. He is afraid the daily care will be too much for one person. “I am not asking anybody to give me poison. I am asking not to sustain my life. The torture is not mostly physical, it is mental. Being a burden for people I love, hopelessness, despair”. Euthanasia in Greek meant “good death”. There are two main types of euthanasia – active and passive: euthanasia can mean medically assisted suicide when a doctor for example gives a patient lethal injection, or it can mean simply stopping life-sustaining treatment, abstension from interventions.
Euthanasia is legal in Holland, Belgium and Oregon state in the USA. Holland was the first country to legalise euthanasia in 1976 (also marihuana was legalised then). The doctor assists the patient. At the beginning, it was necessary that the patient expresses his will, now euthanasia is also possible with babies and children to 10 years. It is judged that euthanasia is in practice used in many cases when pateints are unconscious and can’t express their will. Some sources say that 40% of deaths are caused by euthanasia. In Switzerland the doctor can prescribe a lethal dose of sleeping pills, but the patient has to take the medicine. He is assisted by a pastor. In Oregon it is legal when two differt doctors decide the patient will not live more than six months. The medicine can be prescribed but the patient has to take it by himself. It is the worst solution because he is not assisted by anybody and if something happens (for example there is some interaction with other medicaments the patient has been taking) there is nobody to help shorten his suffering. In Poland euthanasia is not legal. It is a kind of killing, only treated more mildly. This means a sentence between 3 months and 5 years, but there are cases in which the person who uses euthanasia might not be punished at all.
Janusz Świtaj gives arguments that are used by all the people who are for euthanasia. He wants to decide about himself. He doesn’t want to be a burden for his family. He wants his freedom to be respected. He doesn’t want to suffer any more. The arguments against can be divided into two main types. First of all, there are religious arguments. People have no rights to decide about the length of their life. God gives life and takes it. We are not able to decide that our life is worthless. The second argument is practical. When euthanasia is legalised, it might be a good ocasion of families who are tired of taking care of their ill members to persuade them and finally convince that their life is worthless and the only think they should do is stop it. Also deciding for a person who is not able to express his or her opinion, is ethically doubtful. The discussion has been going on for a long time and will definitely not finish tomorrow. Is there a tomorrow for Janusz Świtaj? After his request was handed in court in Jastrzębie Zdrój, many people have offered help and support. The newspapers have appeared with optimistic headlines, such as “Janusz Świtaj will have a job” or “The paralysed man wants to live and work”. Some people have proposed Janusz working with the Internet – for example searching Internet pages for infomation. This is something he could easily do. His case has raised the questions which are really awkward to ask. Why in Poland the situation of families who take care of disabled people is so difficult? Why does the nurse come only twice a week? Why doesn’t the country help the parents? Why doesn’t Janusz have a wheelchair? Why hasn’t he been put into vertical position which is one of the first thing being done with paralysed patients? “Could I have a wheelchair?” Janusz was shocked. If he could, he would have jumped on his bed. It is very sad to hear that in more civilised countries, there are wheelchairs for patients which can be moved by their mouth – or even eyelids. It is very sad to hear that there are countries where the nurse comes everyday – and it is natural. The relatives of a disabled patient can also have their own life and they do not have to be heroes. The case of Janusz Świtaj is unique, because perhaps it is asking for help and not really for euthanasia. It shows what we are doing with such patients. There are people who have become famous icons of disability, like Stephen Hawking who has been paralysed since he was born. There are people in Poland who has managed to organise themselves. They have work and families. But it seems one has to be somebody special, has to have some heroic capacities much bigger than in the case of an ordinary person, whereas some things, like rehabilitation, wheelchairs and other equipment, medical care should be natural for the patients and their families. It is rather obvious that the decision of the court will be negative. Euthanasia is not legal and nobody can change it. Janusz is still fighting. He is fighting for a referendum, but also for hope. Hope that his life can be better.