Pulling the plug is ok by me

A few nights ago, I accidentally watched “Million Dollar Baby.” After that, I made another New Year’s resolution — no more watching movies that make me want to kill myself. Yet last night, I watched it again. Why? Because I’m a masochistic moron. But that’s beside the point.

I won’t spoil the movie for those of you haven’t seen it, but suffice it so say that the movie deals with the issues of euthanasia and the right to die, ala Terri Schiavo.

I don’t want to rehash the whole issue of Terri Schiavo because it is, in every sense of the word, a moot point. But simply to remind everyone of my position, here’s a little refresher:

My main problem with the entire Schiavo case was not whether she should die, but rather the fact that there was no conclusive evidence one way or the other as to what Terri Schiavo’s wishes were. Had she left a living will, there’d be no question. But I do believe that in such a scenario, it is more proper to err on the side of life. Simply because I, and most other Americans, would not prefer to be kept alive in such a manner, I don’t believe that we can project those feelings onto people like Terri Schiavo and end their lives without their consent.

All that being said, I’m a fairly staunch right to die advocate. Or, I suppose I would more accurately be described as a right-to-choose-to die advocate. My libertarian streak leads me to believe that people of sound mind should be able to do what they want when it comes to living or dying.

There’s this so-called “culture of life” among conservatives, especially Catholics, that I’m just not sure I’m on board with. That is to say, they oppose anything that could be construed as the ending of a life, be it abortion, capitol punishment, or euthanasia. I just can’t resolve that idea that all lives are equal, regardless of the circumstances. By that I mean it doesn’t make sense to me to put an unborn child, a convicted murderer and a suffering adult in the same category. Particularly the convicted murderer.

But even with the unborn child and the suffering adult, it’s just not the same thing. When an unborn child is aborted, the fetus is not making a conscious decision to terminate itself. But on the other hand, when an adult is terminally ill, suffering greatly and has made the decision that they no longer wish to live, I see no nobility in forcing them to live.

What compassion is there in forcing someone to live who would rather die? Is it morally superior to prolong a person’s suffering with the simple goal of prolonging their life? As far as I’m concerned, life is not constituted by a beating heart, functioning lungs and other involuntary functions. Life is consciousness and being able to enjoy the fact that you’re alive, absent chronic suffering. Once that consciousness or enjoyment of life has been removed, it ceases to be a moral issue of life and death.

Oh, and for what it's worth, if (God forbid) I ever end up in the hospital, immobile and drooling on myself, pull the damn plug. Seriously. You can even slap me around a little before you do, if you like. Hell, I wouldn't know. Just don't show me on TV, and certainly don't have Congress pass a law just for me. That's just asinine.