DR GEORGE Wong Seow Choon seems to be advocating assisted suicide ("Let patients choose how they wish to end their days"; Tuesday).
His arguments work on the assumption that terminally ill individuals who are on the verge of death have the right to decide what they want to do with their lives, including how to end them.
This is a slippery slope.
Do we grant the same right to people who have lost the use of their limbs due to stroke, or those with permanent organ failure?
Like Dr Wong's father, my dad suffered from a terminal illness. But what made him determined to go on living was the loving care and affection he received from his family members.
Palliative care was recommended by my father's doctor and we accepted it.
Two months before his death at home, my father told me I had made his life comfortable and satisfying. These words convinced me that we had done the right thing.
Switzerland's liberal stand on euthanasia has sparked criticism that it encourages "death tourism". Research has revealed that many elderly people seeking assistance to end their lives in Switzerland suffered not from terminal illnesses but chronic and other non-life-threatening conditions. That is the downside of permitting assisted suicide.
Caring for our loved ones who may be elderly, terminally ill or mentally ill is an enriching experience. It is an opportunity to reach out and touch others with our own lives, no matter how challenging it is.
Ada Chan Siew Foen (Ms)
*Article first appeared on ST Forums (1 May 2014)