What has always struck me most is the loss of personhood. The patient becomes less than him or herself, an object about which decisions must be made. It is inevitable, I suppose. “Real” people have volition and will; they can decide and make choices and express their will. But when they become objects, it is we who make the choices. That happens at the beginning of life as well as at the end. Embryos chosen for their stem cells and the elderly leaning into death cannot do that, make choices. They become “other,” no longer of “us.”
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:22:25 +0000