“Die with dignity” - With voluntary assisted dying not an option, Laura Henkel is heading to Switzerland to 'die with dignity

[P.S.பிரபா]

கடந்த வாரம் மேற்கு அவுஸ்ரேலிய மாநிலம் “ கருணைக்கொலை” மசோதாவை நிறைவேற்றியிருந்தது. விக்டோரியா மாநிலத்தை தொடர்ந்து மேற்கு அவுஸ்ரேலியா மாநிலம் இதை நிறைவேற்றி உள்ளது. 

கருணைக்கொலை பற்றி பல எதிர்ப்புகள் எழுந்தாலும் இந்த 90 வயது வயோதிக மாது கூறுவதை உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்கிறேன்.

With voluntary assisted dying not an option, Laura Henkel is heading to Switzerland to 'die with dignity'

ABC NORTH COAST UPDATED ABOUT AN HOUR AGO

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PHOTO 

Laura Henkel said old age could not be mended like a broken bone.

SUPPLIED: SAM LARA

Laura Henkel is about to embark on the last journey of her life.

While pain and exhaustion have become an inescapable part of this 90-year-old's life, she has not been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

"I think old age is a terminal illness because you can't cure it like a disease, you can't mend it like a broken bone," she said.

"It's only going to get worse and there's nothing you can do about it.

"I don't want to put my family through the terrible experience that I had with my own mother, where she suffered for 15 years with dementia and loss of dignity.

"I vowed 40 years ago that I would not die like that."

Voluntary assisted dying in Australia is not an option for Ms Henkel.

PHOTO Walking has become very difficult for Laura Henkel.

SUPPLIED: SAM LARA

While Victoria and Western Australia have passed assisted dying laws, they only apply under a strict set of circumstances.

In both states, applicants must be terminally ill with intolerable pain, and likely to die within six months, or 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases.

It is illegal in all other states and territories.

Determined to end her life on her own terms, Ms Henkel is packing her bags for Switzerland.

"I want to end my life with dignity," she said.

"I would far rather stay here in my home and die here in my home with my family around me, but here in New South Wales I'm not allowed to. I'm not allowed to die."

Ms Henkel's daughter, Cathy Henkel, and granddaughter, Sam Lara, are supporting her decision and will be by her side when she dies.

"Well, of course it conflicts when your mum tells you she wants to die," Cathy Henkel said.

"But she very quickly explained to me that her quality of life had declined to such a degree, and she told me about her own mother and not wanting to end up like her, and I could see that daily suffering."

PHOTO Film-makers Cathy Henkel and Sam Lara support Laura's decision and will document her journey to Switzerland.

ABC NORTH COAST: CATHERINE MARCINIAK

Documenting a difficult decision

Ms Henkel has asked her filmmaker daughter and granddaughter to document her euthanasia journey.

It is a challenging task for a loved one grappling with her grandmother's decision.

"I feel a million emotions on an hourly basis," Ms Lara said. 

"But in the long-term, I think the upsides to this choice are definitely going to outweigh the challenges.

WA's voluntary euthanasia plan

A voluntary assisted dying regime is on the cards for WA, but will anyone with a terminal illness be able to legally end their lives? Here's what you need to know.

"The best aspects of Laura's choice have definitely been the chance to say goodbye.

"We've been able to do a lot of bucket-list things." 

The three generations of women hope the film will start a dialogue in Australia about the laws around voluntary assisted dying.

"What Laura is doing is forcing us to talk about death and to talk about the end of life for the elderly and what options they have and what options they don't have," Ms Lara said.

"It is incredibly challenging, and I know because I've lived it.

"It is going to bring up a lot of emotion and conflict in people [but] I don't know if that's necessarily a bad thing."

PHOTO Born in South Africa in 1929, Laura Henkel now lives in Ballina on the NSW north coast. 

SUPPLIED: HENKEL FAMILY

A complex and divisive issue

While Ms Henkel has made her position clear, the issue of voluntary assisted dying in Australia is a complex and often divisive issue.

Margaret Sommerville is a professor of bioethics at the Catholic University of Notre Dame in Sydney.

"People believe it's their right, it's their decision and this is what they want to do, but we also have to think about what impact would that have in our society in general," Professor Somerville said.

"We know that people who feel like that, when they get fully adequate care and support, a very large number of them change their mind.

"This is even people who have asked for and consented to euthanasia in jurisdictions where it's legal."

The Australian Medical Association's statement position is that doctors should not be involved in ending a person's life.

It recognises the broad range of views within the medical profession and the broader community, but says laws relating to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are, "ultimately a matter for society and government".

PHOTO Fulfilling a dream to perform on stage one last time, Laura Henkel takes a final bow.

SUPPLIED: SAM LARA

For Laura Henkel, the fear of losing autonomy through a stroke or dementia outweighs the fear of death.

"I don't want to die in hospital, [and] I don't want to die in an old-age home," she said.

"A sportsman is allowed to say, 'Look, I've had enough'. You may say, 'Oh, but he can still play beautifully why does he want to retire?' But he suddenly feels he's had enough, so you accept that, so why not accept that life is the same thing?

"Just about everybody says, 'I would like to die in my sleep', and that's precisely what I'm going to do.

"I'm going to go to sleep, and then I will die."

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-15/voluntary-assisted-dying-laura-henkel-switzerland-die/11795984

 

 

[P.S.பிரபா]

16 minutes ago, பிரபா சிதம்பரநாதன் said:

 

கடந்த வாரம் மேற்கு அவுஸ்ரேலிய மாநிலம் “ கருணைக்கொலை” மசோதாவை நிறைவேற்றியிருந்தது. விக்டோரியா மாநிலத்தை தொடர்ந்து மேற்கு அவுஸ்ரேலியா மாநிலம் இதை நிறைவேற்றி உள்ளது. 

 

Voluntary euthanasia becomes law in WA in emotional scenes at Parliament

BY NICOLAS PERPITCHUPDATED TUE AT 11:38PM

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PHOTO 

VAD campaigner Belinda Teh embraces a fellow supporter on the steps of Parliament after the bill was passed.

ABC NEWS: JAMES CARMODY

Historic legislation allowing terminally ill people to end their own lives has passed the West Australian Parliament, making it the second state after Victoria to allow voluntary euthanasia.

Key points:

• The procedure will only be for those with a terminal illness and need medical sign-off
• The laws passed after months of heated and passionate debate on both sides
• While there are a series of safeguards, critics maintain they are "dangerous"

Supporters of the bill cheered and gave a standing ovation from the public gallery as the Legislative Assembly voted it into law.

There were also emotional scenes on the floor of Parliament as MPs hugged each other in celebration after months of drawn-out debate.

Health Minister Roger Cook held back tears as he delivered his final address to the house.

PHOTO Premier Mark McGowan thanked supporters outside parliament. December 10, 2019

ABC NEWS: JAMES CARMODY

WA Premier Mark McGowan said it was a historic, but also sombre, day for all those who fought for years to give terminally ill people the option to legally end their pain and suffering.

"This is Western Australia leading the way for the entire country — and the whole world — in social reform that makes people's lives better," Mr McGowan said.

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"This is about allowing for choice for those people who are dying and in pain, so that they don't have to go through those last weeks and months in agony.

"It means all those people who are worried about their own futures, worried about their parents' futures, will have the comfort of knowing that if they're dying and in agony, they can exercise their own choice. 

"It is a fundamental question of human rights to be able to exercise your own choice in that situation."

PHOTO VAD supporter Rhonda Taylor said she was overwhelmed by the result.

ABC NEWS: JAMES CARMODY

Lower House MPs had returned to Parliament for a special sitting to debate 55 amendments to the legislation made by the Legislative Council, which had debated the bill for more than 105 hours until it was passed last week. All the amendments were passed, with the Government's support.

A series of safeguards

The Government argued the amendments did not impact the operation or the integrity of the bill, which had more than 100 safeguards in place.

Under the scheme, to be eligible a person would have to be terminally ill with a condition that is causing intolerable suffering and is likely to cause death within six months, or 12 months for a neurodegenerative condition.

WA's voluntary euthanasia plan

A voluntary assisted dying regime is on the cards for WA, but will anyone with a terminal illness be able to legally end their lives? Here's what you need to know.

A person would have to make two verbal requests and one written request. Those requests would have to be signed off by two doctors who are independent of each other.

The choice of lethal medication would be a clinical decision from an approved list of drugs. 

Self-administration would be the preferred method, but in a departure from the Victorian regime, a patient could choose for a medical practitioner to administer the drug.

In Victoria, a doctor can only administer the drug if a patient is physically incapable.

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VIDEO 1:41 

How pharmacists will dispense drugs to eligible Victorians under the state's assisted dying laws

ABC NEWS

'Dangerous' laws still have critics

But Upper House Liberal MP Nick Goiran, the most vocal opponent of the bill and who spoke on every clause in the Legislative Council, maintained it was the most dangerous voluntary euthanasia legislation ever passed in Australia, even though he had proposed 25 of the 55 amendments passed.

He previously said unlike the Victorian legislation, there was no requirement for a specialist doctor to be involved and patients could self-administer the lethal medication with no supervision.

PHOTO Labor MP Amber-Jade Sanderson, Health Minister Roger Cook and Premier Mark McGowan celebrate with voluntary euthanasia supporters.

ABC NEWS: JAMES CARMODY

They also did not have to keep the medication in a locked box.

Mr McGowan stressed it was a voluntary scheme.

"Those people who want to access it, will be able to access it," he said.

"Those people who don't want to access it, won't have to access it. It's a voluntary decision on one of the most important periods in your own life, which is when you are dying and when you are in pain."

An 18-month wait to access the program

There would now be an 18-month implementation period to give health and other service providers time to prepare for voluntary euthanasia before it comes into effect.

PHOTO The voluntary euthanasia debate brought out passionate arguments on both sides.

ABC NEWS

Health Minister Roger Cook said WA would benefit from Victoria's experience in bringing voluntary euthanasia into law.

"We'll obviously borrow a lot from Victoria, Mr Cook said.

"But Western Australia is a unique landscape, over 2.5 million square kilometres of country we have to make sure we spread these laws to.

"So we're going to take very cautious steps to ensure that when we implement these laws that it's absolutely safe and that everyone has the opportunity to access voluntary assisted dying."

A little too late for some

Rhonda Taylor, 54, has campaigned for VAD but it will not be available soon enough for her to use it.

"I have metastatic breast cancer which has spread to my brain and right throughout my bones," she said.

"I'm facing the prospect of losing my speech very shortly, have difficulty swallowing and eating, so I'll be looking at having a tube for eating, my hearing has gone, some of my vision is going, I will be looking at having some sort of paralysis.

"I'm degenerating very quickly, so I'm hoping to see out Christmas and a little bit beyond for my daughter's birthday, but I'm not so sure."

PHOTO VAD supporter Rhonda Taylor leaves parliament after listening in to hours of debate.

ABC NEWS: JAMES CARMODY

Ms Taylor said she was overwhelmed when the bill passed this evening and said thousands of people could be helped by it.

"There are thousands of people like me, in my situation. I just think that's such a gift to give to somebody," she said.

"Knowing what's coming and knowing that you can prepare for it in a way that's not going to traumatise yourself or people around you that you love.

"And you can make that time a special time rather than them remembering you as somebody that was maybe struggling to breathe, in pain and they can't do anything about it

 

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/voluntary-euthanasia-becomes-law-in-wa-in-emotional-scenes/11784828

[விவசாயி விக்]

பல புற்று நோயாளிகள் கடினமான கீமோ வைத்தியம் செய்து ஒரு வருடம் தான் தாக்கு பிடிக்கிறார்கள்.  

எனது குடும்பத்திலும் போய் சேர வேண்டிய மனுசனை கண்ட கண்ட மருந்துகள் கொடுத்து, அவர் சாகும் நேரம் பின் தங்கி, அவர் உடல் எலும்பு கூடாகி,  நினைவுகள், உடல் கட்டு பாடு இழந்து வலி வேதனையோடு இறந்தார்.  

குடும்பத்திற்கு எல்லா முயற்சியும் செய்துவிட்டோம் என்ற நிம்மதி ஆனால் வருத்தகாரருக்கு நரக வேதனை.

இந்த பெண்மணி செய்வது தவறு.  வருத்தம் இல்லாமல் சாவது என்பது சட்ட பூர்வமான தற்கொலை.

[P.S.பிரபா]

52 minutes ago, விவசாயி விக் said:

 

பல புற்று நோயாளிகள் கடினமான கீமோ வைத்தியம் செய்து ஒரு வருடம் தான் தாக்கு பிடிக்கிறார்கள்.  

எனது குடும்பத்திலும் போய் சேர வேண்டிய மனுசனை கண்ட கண்ட மருந்துகள் கொடுத்து, அவர் சாகும் நேரம் பின் தங்கி, அவர் உடல் எலும்பு கூடாகி,  நினைவுகள், உடல் கட்டு பாடு இழந்து வலி வேதனையோடு இறந்தார்.  

குடும்பத்திற்கு எல்லா முயற்சியும் செய்துவிட்டோம் என்ற நிம்மதி ஆனால் வருத்தகாரருக்கு நரக வேதனை

 

எனது தாயாரும் கருப்பைவாயில் புற்று நோயால் மரணமடைந்தார். இது எங்களுக்கு தெரிய வந்த போது, அவர் நோயின் கடைசி கட்டத்தில் இருந்தார், கீமோவிற்கு இரண்டு/மூன்று வாரமே சென்றிருப்பார், பின்பு மறுத்துவிட்டார், மிகவும் பிடிவாதமான பெண்மணி. கொழும்பிற்கு வந்து இரு வாரங்களில் எங்களை விட்டு பிரிந்துவிட்டார். எனது தந்தையை பொறுத்த வரையில் எனது தாயாரின் முடிவும், சடுதியான மரணமும் வாட்டினாலும், என்னைப்பொறுத்த மட்டில் என் தாயார் எடுத்த முடிவு சரியானதே.  புற்று நோயின் தாக்கத்தை பற்றி தெரிந்தமையால், என் தாயாரின் முடிவு சரி என்றுதான் நான் நினைப்பதுண்டு. என் மனதில் என் அம்மாவின் உருவம்        உருக்குலையாமல் எப்பொழுதும் உள்ள உருவம் போலவே இன்றுவரை உள்ளது. 

 

1 hour ago, விவசாயி விக் said:

இந்த பெண்மணி செய்வது தவறு.  வருத்தம் இல்லாமல் சாவது என்பது சட்ட பூர்வமான தற்கொலை

உண்மைதான். ஆனால் அவரது காரணங்களையும் பிழை என்று கூற முடியாது தானே

[விவசாயி விக்]

7 hours ago, பிரபா சிதம்பரநாதன் said:

உண்மைதான். ஆனால் அவரது காரணங்களையும் பிழை என்று கூற முடியாது தானே

வருத்த வேதனை, உடல் இயலாமை காரணங்கள் சரி ஆனால் எனக்கும் அந்த நிலைமை வந்தாலும் வரலாம் என்று உயிரை கொடுப்பது சரியாக படவில்லை.

தற்கொலைகள் மேற்குலகில் ஒரு பெரிய பிரச்சினை.   இந்த சட்டங்கள் வாழ்வை வெறுத்த பலருக்கு வசதியாக அமைந்து விடக்கூடாது.