How civilized
is a nation that opens the gateway for vulnerable people to kill themselves legally in their nation when there is nothing inherently wrong with them physically? How do they allow such companies to profit from this practice?
Breakdown of Psyche
IN a time of COVID, with job security low and relationships strained by lockdowns and risk of impending wars, is it any wonder that 20.2 million antidepressants were prescribed per quarter in the UK with roughly 17% of the adult population now classified as clinically depressed. Figures are similar in America with roughly 13.2% of adults using antidepressants in the past 30 days. The sad reality is on average there are now 18 suicides a day in the UK and this is just the reported figures. In Switzerland the land of ‘euthanasia’, the suicide rate of men is 19.2 per 100,000 well above the EU average. Are these nations not supposed to be some of the most well adjusted and advanced civilizations of the world? Therefore is it any wonder suicide has now become big business? Sophisticated clinics have been set up for you to make the process as easy as buying candy and make no mistake they are cashing in big time.
Pegasos
Recently 2 sisters left Phoenix, Arizona, and travelled to Basel, Switzerland. However, this was not part of some grand European tour but was in fact to visit the world epicentre for 'Assisted Suicide'. The sisters plan was in fact to end their lives and in order to do so they were willing to pay each $11,000. Lila Ammouri, a 54 year-old palliative care doctor, and Susan Frazier, a 49-year-old nurse were not even old or terminally ill. Is it not likely that they both were suffering from trauma of fighting on the frontlines of COVID emotionally drained from seeing hundreds of people, young and vulnerable die in front of their very eyes, with nothing they could realistically do to help?
The Pegasos Swiss Association facility, opened in August 2019, with its mystical name sounds like a place for spiritual enlightenment. On arrival with its low key ambience it appears like a boutique hotel. It has calming decor, cool white walls, and designer furniture. The waiting room resembles the lobby of a doctor's surgery, with comfy chairs, plants and mood lighting enhancing its calming vibe.
However, more disconcertingly, it has what is known as 'death rooms.' These rooms are intimate, with curtains drawn for privacy, soothing tones and rugs pinned to the walls. Here guests don’t get a minibar but instead are hooked up to an intravenous drip. However, in order to avoid any legal ramifications, Pegasos insists the client push a notch themselves to let its deadly contents flow into their body. Other guests choose to take a lethal drug cocktail drink instead. But don't worry if you are a little nervous, you can invite family, friends and even your pets to accompany you and even pick the music on your journey.
Pegasos has no waiting period for ‘assisted suicide’ just a simple consultation is needed prior to termination. Here it does not matter, just be sure to sign a disclaimer, hand over the money and drink the cocktail and it's all done. No messy overdose attempts, failed bridge jumps, just a quick ingestion of poison and it's all done.
Back to the sisters 'The two American ladies died on February 11. It was the Friday in the Canton Basel-Landschaft by a legal assisted suicide. - Swiss government spokesperson reported. 'They died the same day and the timings were close, if not at the same time.'
The sisters' deaths were verified by the US consulate on February 18. Their brother Cal, 60, from New York Was only aware of his siblings death when contacted by The Independent.
Another case was widely reported in the press as Laura Henkel, an Australian, allowed her filmmaker daughter to record her final moments at Pegasos. Footage can be seen of her on the death room's bed during her final moments in December 2019. She chose death via intravenous injection. Henkel, though 90 years old, was not terminally ill, and even mentally and physically fit for her age. It seems she simply wanted to choose her lifespan and wanted to die before any sickness overwhelmed her ability to make her own decision.
Their criteria to discern if someone is really sick is very foggy at least. ``Pegasos accepts that some people who are not technically 'sick' may want to apply for a VAD. But this does not mean the person is 'well'. (Assisted suicide patient) Professor David Goodall. 'Pegasos believes that for a person to be in the headspace of considering ending their lives, their quality of life must be qualitatively poor,' the company explains. So how do we discern if the quality of life is bad enough to want to die? Does it mean you couldn’t pay your bills this month, you are depressed because you had a relationship breakdown? How and where do you draw the line?
The following statement makes it very clear from the assessment that the client was not even sick and yet Pegasos approved of his decision to die. 'He was not sick but his eyesight was failing him, as was his mobility. Old age is rarely kind. The decision to end one's life is an intensely personal one. 'Pegasos makes every effort to understand fully the unique circumstances of everyone who makes contact with us.'
There are many cases like these. Cindy Siegel Shepler, 62, of Knoxville Tennessee, was another example as testified to by her friend, Ryan Prior. Shepler was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, a chronic illness which for those that know is a condition often now diagnosed in western nations. It is loosely related to a blanket of symptoms such as muscle ache, foggy brain, IBS etc. It can cause pain and insomnia for which there is no known cure. There are many people who claim remition of these symptoms and reduction in pain overtime, and are able to live productive lives so how is suicide a good option? Don’t many people make these impulsive decisions based on a feeling that passes?
Shepler travelled to Basel in 2020 with her husband, David, to die at Pegasos facility. She opted for the intravenous drip, which she commented was 'cold,' before she fell asleep and died.
Reflections on Assisted Suicide
According to Swissinfo.ch, around 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2020. Prior to the pandemic, roughly half came from other nations, the majority from Germany and the UK. In the UK, under the Suicide Act 1961 anyone who helps a person commit suicide can be prosecuted and face upto 14 years in jail.
The 2 main organisations who carry out this process are Dignitas and Exit. Dignitas, was founded in 1998 and requires clients to perform two consultations one with the group and the other with an independent doctor, to at least ensure some safeguard. They also accept only patients who are terminally-ill or suffer from severe disabilities. Hence today Digitas has recorded at least 450 people from the UK seeking assistance from them. They also profit from other people’s suffering to the tune of 8,000 Euros per person.
In God’s creation does not each human being have a unique role and responsibility, which no one else can fulfil. Does not each individual participate in the orderly progression of the world and society? Does not this willful act of suicide break up this harmony?
The Italian poet Dante Aligheri, in “The Inferno,” extrapolated from traditional Catholic beliefs and placed those who had committed the sin of suicide on the seventh level of hell, where they exist in the form of trees that painfully bleed when cut or pruned.
Devilish (aswya) are those worlds called, With blind darkness (tamas) covered o'er. Unto them, on deceasing, go Whatever folk are slayers of the self (Isa 3; Hume 1968: 362; Radhakrishna
Suicide in sanskrit is called Atmahatya, meaning murdering the soul or self. The very word conveys amply the attitude of Hinduism towards suicide. Where is the accountability to these doctors and organisations to disprove these cases especially when there is fundamentally nothing biologically wrong with the people examined? Is it not more the case that love has broken down amongst families and society, hope is shattered in many people’s lives and that these emotional issues are really what need addressing? Is it not wise to realise that we all have scars and instead look for a way to move on and direct our energy in a positive light?
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