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Letter: Who are we to play God?

To the Editor:

House Bill 1135 authorizes an individual with a terminal illness to request an attending physician prescribe life-ending medication to hasten the individual’s death. The physician legally helps a person commit suicide.

My mind revisits my mother on her bed in the nursing home. Torrents of emotions raged my soul. My mother was a proper lady, educated in style and grace. Previewing her final years would have mortified her, as it did my brothers and me. The change was especially hard for Dad.



I will not deny that at times we wished for her to go. I did not want responsibility for something I had not asked for, but herein is the problem. We want to release those who seemingly add no value to our existence. This is what HB1135 prescribes.

When we read the book, THE GIVER, by Lois Lowry, or watch the movie, we are pained by a society that injects citizens as an acceptable means to end their lives. How can any society assume the role of God?



We make ourselves God by performing acts of release from this world. We believe we have the right to determine who should live and who should die.

HB1135 doesn’t say that?

HB1135 allows an individual to be assisted in committing suicide. When did committing suicide become an acceptable practice — whether someone helps me or not?

Had my mother ended her life when she began feeling less in control and requiring more from others, we would have missed out. My mother continued to help us grow even in her final, difficult years.

When the years wore on, like a child I asked, “Why can’t she just go to heaven? It would be so much easier.”

My wise friend responded, “They teach us compassion.”

I didn’t want to learn compassion, and I told him that. I felt I had enough, though obviously I was acting on short supply. What I did was examine my heart and change my perspective. I began reading to my mother. You can learn more at andKathleenMiller.com and ReadingToMyMother.com.

Looking back I wish I had done more. I can’t bring her back, but I can encourage you to actively oppose HB1135. Look for ways to help others as our society faces this death threat, or as THE GIVER portrays, commissions their release. Think about it. Then contact legislators to oppose House Bill 1135.

Kathleen Miller

Granby


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