If You Really Believe in Human Rights, Why Are You NOT Asking Yourself These Questions?

I have never understood the general consensus on death; the great majority of the global population goes to (often) extreme measures to postpone and detain it…even those who are living misserable lives. Why? Is it that we hang on until our loved ones are ready to let us go? Wouldn’t it be easier to take the stigma out of it and actually be able to talk to our loved ones about how the strain of staying alive is harming everyone? Or is it fear? Fear of the unknown, I guess. But isn’t life itself the absolute conquer of that fear? What can be scarier than being thrust into this world, (without consent), being absolutely dependent on others and not having the slightest clue of what living is all about? We go through life, never knowing what’s waiting for us around the corner. Yet we all do it, don’t we? We’re indiffensively exposed to the carpet being violently pulled out from under us at any moment. The only certainty we have from the very day we are born, is that we are going to die; everything else is a big question mark. We’re going to win, we’re going to loose, be forced to adapt to unwanted circumstances, frustrations, surprises, pain, losses, trauma…so many things. What can be scarier than that?…Death?…Really? Ceasing to exist? I believe living is way scarier. Ceasing to exist surely for some, is a relief. Clearly a relief for the huge population that attempts (be it successfully or unsuccessfully) to commit suicide. “More than 700.000 people die by suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds” (WHO) - not to mention all those who have suicidal thoughts…Alarming numbers…Yet, this is not my primary concern, my concern is way bigger than this and way more profound.

So ok, albeit alarming, those suicides every 40 seconds are a low percentage of the total population…You might be in the overwhelming (aproximatly) 99% of the majority that is unknowingly manipulated to extend their life, and that of others. Then I ask you, why don’t you ask yourself these questions?…What is the reason you postpone and fear death?…Is it the stigma?…Is it your loved ones? Is it God? Well, I have to say I don’t believe that your version of God (because we all answer to different versions of God), expects you to suffer to that point. Religion was constructed by man, not God, whoever your God might be -(and it was constructed as the comfort for a scared population so that they could be easier to manipulate. “Religion is the opium of the masses” Karl Marx), I don’t believe your God wants you to sacrifice yourself in that manner.

In any case, isn’t that same, all-forgiving God, waiting for you with complete understanding on the other side? Who are you soldiering for, then? Which unidentified entity, with what hidden agenda, are you unknowingly letting yourself be manipulated by? Don’t get me wrong, I honor soldiers, they have my highest respect and admiration, way above the average person - there have been many a times I’ve considered myself a soldier for a noble cause; but I do not “soldier” unless I know exactly who and what I’m soldiering for. I don’t sacrifice my death (nor my life) for other’s ulterior motives.

But, let’s set God a side, shall we? My big question is regarding our basic human rights. Why is the right to live so adamantly (sometimes forcefully) defended - more precisely: imposed - on us by strangers who don’t know of our suffering, (doctors… but primarily big pharma and governments complying to them and an a series of universal laws that clearly need revision)? It’s not our right to live that’s being defended, it’s our right to die that is being stripped from us. Ask yourself this: if the right to live is non-individually held so highly above all other rights, shouldn’t the right to die be at least considered? “Since human beings do not have the power to act at the time of their birth, no one should have authority over a person's decision to continue living or to die.” (Benatar, David (2017). The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions. Oxford University Press). When we are thrust into this world without consent, we acquire the universal right to live, does that give society the right to force us into living a long, miserable life?

I believe a person has a right to decide how and when to die. I think it’s anti-constitutional and barbaric that THAT right is not even considered a right (by unanimous consent - it has been in revision in all countries for decades, but it’s a hard law for any politician to pass because of the backlash, the STIGMA). Yes, maybe the majority of the world fears death, but what about the millions that consider death a relief? What voice do they have? Those are generally the ones that end in suicide…And how harmful is that? Families surprised and forever traumatized, people going to extreme measures to achieve a successful suicide…Not to mention the harm and humiliation of a suicidal attempt gone wrong. What are those people forced to face for the rest of their miserable lives? Where is compassion there? Compassion for the successful and the failed attempts. Where’s the law that protects a human being from deciding to check-out? And why shouldn’t they have a law that protects them?

In an era obsessed with mental health and trauma, shouldn’t these poor souls, at least, not be judged for the decision of ending their suffering, whichever that might be? Wouldn’t physician-assisted suicide be more humane?…Giving these distraught people a hand so that they don’t have to go to extreme and horrible measures to make sure they get it right, whilst knowing they’re leaving their friends and family with a million questions and traumatizing feelings? Wouldn’t it be better if suicide wasn’t as stigmatized and these people could share those last thoughts and plans with their loved ones to make sure they are prepared? Ah, but no, according to most universal laws, those loved ones would be considered accomplices - as if deciding when to end your life where a crime! Is it?…Really? Isn’t it time to reconsider? Assisted death, or assisted suicide if you prefer, is so easy. It is so much more humane, infinitely less painful and definitely less messy, in every sense of the word.

You can only “access” physician-assisted death if you have an incurable disease, such as cancer, ALS, etc…What about war hero’s that have lost one or more limbs and / or are traumatized and cannot lead a decent life? What about those who are confined to a wheel chair for the rest of their lives and don’t want to live like that? What about an Olympic gold medal athlete who’s essential characteristic of self is having spent his entire life being super active and is now confined to being bed stricken for the rest of his life because his body suffered unrepairable injuries? What about those who have lost everything, to the point they’ve lost their sense of self and don’t want to continue existing in those particular conditions? Those who consciously realize they are loosing their minds and their dignity! What about those with chronic pain, who have to wake up every morning to go through yet another day of excruciating pain and just hope to get through it without going mad? What about a woman who’s been raped over and over and can’t live a day without those horrifying memories? What about people who’ve been tortured, be it psychologically or physically, and can’t muster the desire to live? What about the millions of emotional and psychologically traumatized, to the point that they see death as a relief? What about the addicts who’d rather die than live another day suffering those consequences, and what it does to their loved ones - if they still have any? What about the millions who don’t have a life threatening disease but are exhausted of battling whichever other disease they have? What about those millions of people with a different perspective on death than the majority?

How many examples do you need? There’s more! There are thousands of people who see death as a relief who wholeheartedly wish, during every minute of their days to cease to exist. What about all of them? Shouldn’t they have the right to die? Shouldn’t they be allowed to decide when to check-out? Why are we stripping them from their dignity and forcing them to live a miserable, unwanted life against their will?

I believe death is a reflection of life and every human being should at least be able to die with the same philosophy, strength and energy they chose to live their lives. It’s a question of dignity. What’s the great fear? Nobody takes death lightly, surely someone who is personally seeking for assisted death, has thoroughly thought it out and considered all its consequences.

So my question is, if we are made to live without consent, shouldn’t we at least have consent on how we die?

We say we’re a population wanting to be more compassionate…Well, those are just trendy concepts that gain us followers, right?…Do we really want justice? Do we really want to stop being manipulated by yet another of our society’s stigmas, and/or governments and big pharma? Do we want to allow each and every one of us to have a voice, or are we willing to admit that that is all BS used for popularity results and political gain? Don’t we want to have a say on a basic human right that is being denied to us? Or is it all just huge hypocrisy? Because we will never authentically be human rights advocates if we don’t recognize that we are making decisions on other peoples right to die. Ask yourselves who gave us that right? The answer is clear and absolute: Nobody! It’s no more than a generalized assumption that death should be postponed at whatever costs; an established fear that leads the majority of the population to be manipulated into extending their life- and what is worse: that of others; or a religious belief. That’s all it is. An overwhelming social stigma that most people don’t care to question, a stigmatization that should be revised. In the meantime we are allowing it to be unethically used by establishments looking to make proffit out of it. Let’s stop that by analyzing this stigma and evolving as a society. None of us have the right to judge or worse, decide on how or when an other human being should end their life. Period.