To live or die – whose choice?
Terminally-ill motor neurone disease sufferer Diane Pretty has lost the latest stage of her court battle to be allowed to end her life. CHILDREN'S EXPRESS reporters look at the emotive subject of euthanasia.
| We were given this life – I think we should fulfil it. |
After the High Court's ruling, despite not being able to speak to waiting reporters, Diane Pretty communicated that she felt "angry and disappointed," at the decision.
Amanda McAteer strongly supports the court ruling: "I don't think the law should be changed because life is a sacred thing."
"We were given this life - I think we should fulfil it. We've been given it to do good things," she said.
When pushed, though, Amanda admits she can relate to Mrs Pretty's desire not to go on with life, particularly because of the effect her condition must be having on her family.
"If I was paralysed and I couldn't talk to anybody, then I wouldn't want people to see me like that.
"I think it would be putting my family through more pain. If I could just go then they could remember me the way I was," Amanda said.
Sheena Hall, 14 holds equally mixed feelings. While she respects Mrs Pretty's individual right to do what she wants, she doesn't agree with euthanasia as a general rule.
She said: "I think she has the right to die. But it's committing suicide. Whether she's suffering or not, I feel that she should be happy that she's got more time on this earth.
"If I was suffering from really bad cancer I wouldn't want to die - I'd want to stay here for as long as I can."
Mrs Pretty doesn't feel the same way. It is her steadfast belief she has the right to organise her own affairs.
Her decision comes back to the effect her drawn-out death is having on her and her family.
Stephanie McCann remembers her own father's feelings when he came close to death two years ago. She said: "My daddy was in hospital and he had tubes all over him. He didn't want any of us to see him like that, just in case he did die.
"He didn't want us to have a bad memory of him - all tied up with wires. He just wanted us to have a good memory of him, like in childhood."
This type of reaction is not unusual. Adults often shield young people from death for fear of overwhelming them.
"A lot of parents are scared to take their children to funerals and to see dead bodies. But adults take death in a much harder way than kids do," said Drew Mikhael.
He said: "A lot of adults stop eating and don't talk to people. Kids know that they have to get on with life. Maybe it's just because they don't understand death in the same way."
He went on: "'When am I going to die?' or 'How am I going to die?' are just not things you think about. You're thinking, 'What am I going to do for the rest of my life?'"
Orlaith Graham Wood believes young people are more likely to think about the here and now than the hereafter. She said: "I know if I thought about death too much I'd undoubtedly get bogged down by it."
"I think that young people don't understand what death is, they just see it as somebody dying, going to heaven or going to hell," she said.
Thinking about Diane Pretty's case has made Orlaith appreciate how precious life is. "I feel that whatever way death happens, it happens. You should live your life to the full."
She continued: "Don't hold back on anything, do what you feel you want to do. Because God only knows what might happen tomorrow."
About the team
This article was produced by Orlaith Graham Wood, 13, Amanda McAteer, 14, Drew Mikheal, 18, and Stephanie McCann, 15. It was published in the Irish News.
