Euthanise Me!

We are now having a debate on whether Singapore should legalise, or even THINK about legalising euthanasia. When I first saw the headline, I thought, wow, so progressive, our country! But after reading an article describing how this issue even got tabled made me stop in my track. I told Daniel about it, and he said we are crazy. Daniel has always been pro-life. I figured it's partly to do with his Catholic socialisation (which isn't his fault) and partly to do with the German government's pro-life welfare policies. They give a lot of help to single parents, ageing people and don't discriminate them like the Singapore government.

Then on the way home from breakfast this morning, we talked about the welfare system in Europe and how it's breaking down. I argued that the reason people don't have children here is also partly explained by our welfare system - or rather, the lack of it.

What does welfare have to do with euthanasia, you wonder? Plenty. This is a summary of what we spoke about in the car:

Me: (after putting away the newspaper) Boy, am I glad I am debt free.

Daniel: Yes, you are certainly that free.

Me: DEBT free! D-E-B-T (for the ignorant, "debt" is pronounced "det", so Daniel understandably mistook it for the homonym "that"). Anyway I am glad I don't have debt, I don't have children, and therefore I am rather recession-proof, doncha think?

Daniel: Yeah (not very interested).

Me: Do you wanna know why we pay so little taxes?

Daniel: Why? (still not very interested)

Me: Cos we don't have a welfare system. When we pay so little tax, we don't get much else in return, we basically have to earn, save, otherwise nobody takes care of us. And I am not surprised that people don't have kids, because it's hard enough making enough money to live till I die, it's even harder to make sure my kids look after me till I die. And you know, it's not very different from Europe, when you pay high taxes, at least there is that obligation on the part of the government to take care of you when you're sick and old.

Daniel: But that's not the case, in Europe I don't pay for my old age, my taxes go to pay for some old person's retirement now.

Me: Yeah, that's why you people have to do your part and produce your 2.1 kids so that THEY will pay for your old age, isn't it? And the government helps you to pay for your 2.1 kids as well, our government doesn't! So it makes less sense for us to have 2.1 kids with no state support, and no welfare or pension for our old age. That's why we have to take care of ourselves first, if we don't work, we don't live! That's why we have "family values" - that's our society's welfare system, you expect your family to support you when you are old and sick. At least in Europe, if your kids ar complete idiots, you can still expect the state to support you when you're old and sick.

Daniel: Except your tax dollars go to support the useless bums who don't want to work.

Me: True, so people should think long term, and realise they should start having their 2.1 kids, otherwise you can forget about retirement!

Daniel: But many people don't want to have kids, they are rich enough to support themselves.

Me: Well, over here, even if you have a kid, it doesn't guarantee you retire with security. We still have to work and save or whatever people do to make enough money to live till they die or pay their medical bills. So it's understandable that people don't have 2.1 kids, but in Europe, even with a welfare system, people still don't want to have kids! So what's the problem?

Daniel: They should just realise that the system doesn't work and change it.

Me: (thinking) I don't know what's the better way. I forgot my point.

After returning home and reading about the whole euthanasia article, I realised that many old people had been writing to the Lianhe Zaobao, our Chinese press, to ask the health minister to legalise euthanasia. Their reasons will not just bring a gut-wrenching tug to your heart, but it should make everyone (Singaporean or European) think carefully about the kind of society and social security system we want.

Me: Baby, read this. (I pass the paper to Daniel) See? People here, the old folks WANT to be euthanised if they get old and sick! Isn't it sad? They don't get any state support if they have no retirement savings of their own, and also they don't want to be dependent on their family....it's not just about financial dependency, we don't want to have someone to clean our crap from our asses, change our diapers and feed us every day when we are paralysed or sick!

Daniel: (finishes reading and puts the paper down) Well, I think if there are stringent controls and rules about euthanasia then it's a good idea.

Me: I don't think it's about choice at all, this isn't a legal question, it's a social and moral and ethical question. Old people here would rather DIE than live on medical and social assistance, why? Because there is NO ONE to rely on. The government talks about rising medical costs and people abusing the system if it pays for these costs, but when you get right down to it, it's rather petty to talk about the people abusing the system when you have the majority of people choosing to die rather than to live on medical treatment and technology. What the fuck?

Is the answer euthanasia? I'm sorry for saying this, but if we want to talk about legalising euthanasia so that people will not overly burden the current system, so that some people will not ABUSE the state-subsidised medical treatments, then the moral ethics of our state is more fucked up than I could ever imagine. I personally believe it is in every human being's right to decide if he or she does not want to live in pain, to live without dignity, or to become a social burden. But I believe that many Singaporeans would not choose to die if they could get the state support they NEED such as medication and treatment for their illness. They would not have such a negative outlook towards their old-age if their society has more compassion and respect for them rather than the pity and derision people tend to cast on members of the aged.

Case in point: going by the Netherlands example, euthanasia should only be a legal option when there is no hope of living a dignified life without suffering intolerable pain. I believe that apart from these scenarios, no one should have to think about euthanising themselves, and the reason they do, here in Singapore, is because they have no one but themselves to rely on when it comes to living with illness. That is the only problem, whether you help people live, NOT whether you help them to die. This means our entire society has to think about how to help the aged sick. The whole "every-hardworking-man-for-himself" idea is just as broken as Europe's welfare state.

And if it means I have to pay higher taxes, hell yeah, I will pay higher taxes so that I don't have to kill myself when I am 75, paralysed with stroke. I don't know what is worse: to depend on my government to live, or to depend on my government to tell me how to live.