Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

April 3, 2009 By Fausta

“A marvelous opportunity” evolves

Today I’ve been working on a number of things and stopped to browse through my feed reader when I came across Richard Fernandez’s post, “A marvelous opportunity” (emphasis added)

The Times Online describes an chance too good to pass up: to live and let die.

The founder of the Swiss assisted suicide clinic Dignitas was criticised yesterday after revealing plans to help a healthy woman to die alongside her terminally ill husband.

Ludwig Minelli described suicide as a “marvellous opportunity” that should not be restricted to the terminally ill or people with severe disabilities. Critics said that the plans highlighted the risks of proposals to legalise assisted suicides in Britain for people in the final stages of a terminal illness.

The Dignitas clinic in Zurich claims to have assisted in the deaths of more than 100 Britons. The Zurich University Clinic found that more than a fifth of people who had died at Dignitas did not have a terminal condition.

We are sitting here calmly contemplating whether the Oh-so-civilized-Swiss ought to engage in reviving a sanitized, antiseptic version of suttee.

Mind you, not the messy, going-down-in-flames Hindu version that was banned by the pre-politically correct Brits in 1829, but instead a spa-like version – perhaps a Really Last Weekend at Marienbad (and yes, I know that the movie was named Last Year at Marienbad, and that Marienbad is in the Czech Republic not in Switzerland). I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the “assisted suicide” takes place in a setting as lovely as that of the Marienbad movie, complete with couture outfits for the widow, or, instead, like Sol’s “assisted suicide” in Soylent Green in front of a huge film screen. Whatever location you like, Dignitas will come and kill you at the location of your choice – the “death on wheels” service.

I was surprised that Dignitas charges £3,000. One would expect a street hit man to charge less.

But then again, there’s Swiss efficiency for you,

Swiss law specifies that the agencies that help arrange the deaths do it for “honourable reasons” and cannot profit from the death, aside from charging basic fees.

After all, the Swiss have absolutely no compunction about people killing themselves and will even help them. When The Husband and I went to Zurich, a lovely and clean city, junkies were shooting heroin in their veins right in the middle of the city park. It was at once a revolting and pitying sight. When I asked one of the locals who worked at our hotel (housed in a lovely building in the old part of town) what was going on, I was told that the government gave them needles and everything they needed.

To die.

Bad enough, but what I find really disturbing in the article Richard links to is this part,

Mr Minelli said that anyone who has “mental capacity” should be allowed to have an assisted suicide, claiming that it would save money for the NHS.

Dignitas, which a couple of years ago couldn’t pay its lease, is eligible for NHS payments? Or, does Minelli mean that killing healthy people will help the NHS not incur in as many expenses?

Swiss prosecutors are investigating Minelli, who, as Richard points out, stands to make money from these suicides. The heirs of the couple in question stand to make money, too. But so does the governmental entities involved; as Minelli so crassly put it, “it would save money for the NHS”. Richard,

The phrase “a marvelous opportunity” can apply to death or to making money. Drink this, sir. It’s a marvelous opportunity. And in any case the real commentary on our civilization is that if there’s a crime being committed, in modern eyes the crime will be in making a profit, not in the death. That reminds me of a bad joke about bandidos. “Most of the time I kill people for money,” said the bandido to someone he knew, “but you’re since my friend, I’ll kill you for nothing.”

I have lived long enough to realize that mankind’s death wish needs little to surface. The hard part is to make life worthwhile, to respect life, to live life as the gift it is.

UDPATE
Welcome, Anchoress readers. Please visit often.

Post edited to add a paragraph that was omitted by error

Share

Filed Under: Belmont Club Tagged With: euthanasia, Fausta's blog, life

Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com