Yesterday,
Jenny died. She was 55 years old, the oldest gorilla in captivity in
the world. For 50 years of her life she lived in the Zoo of Dallas,
America., had become a friend to many people and something of a
celebrity to some.
She had been quite ill for some time, having been diagnosed with a stomach tumour, malignant and inoperable. Further and more recent tests showed that the lesion was so extensive and there's absolutely no possibility of finding a cure. The last few weeks she had refused to eat or to drink, getting so very weak that she could hardly move. The veterinarians had no other option but to put her to a permanent sleep, to avoid the extreme suffering she was in.
Once again I feel so bad and often very frustrated, whenever I read or see hopeless cases, of people with incurable diseases and suffering inhuman pain both mentally and physically, so very desperate that dying is the only relief. Not just for the person himself, but for his family and friends. Yet the law says no.
If Jenny is your pet, wouldn't you rather see her go so peacefully instead of the agonizing alternative? But if Jenny is you wife, mother, sister, daughter, your favourite aunt ... the law says no, let her suffer and you suffer with her. A few countries had passed the law to allow it, but many haven't.
We are given the liberty to live the way we choose. Why can't we have the same liberty to decide how we die?
Even the law honours the dead man's wish stated in his testimony. Why wouldn't it honour that particular wish too?
When will the much more humane Euthanasia be granted as a human right for all ?
Tags:Gorilla,Humanright,Euthanasia
