Point by: Gina Allstun
There are some things that college doesn’t prepare you for, like a dreaded phone call from a hospital telling you that a parent or loved one is in a coma and that you are the one listed as kin.
Planning for death is a subject matter that is often changed because of its unpleasantness. However, it’s something that is easier to do now, instead of waiting until someone is lying in a hospital bed. It’ll be harder when you see them hooked up to feeding tubes, respirators, monitors and with emotions running high.
Often times, news of a family battling each other in court over whether or not to pull the plug on a loved one is the starting point for an honest discussion about what you want.
My dad was in a hospice due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and did not leave any instructions in a living will or an advanced directive. He died and the lack of these documents sparked a conversation about “what ifs.”
No one should go through this. Coming from a divorced family, it was up to my brother and I to make these decisions while still grieving. A discussion with my mom and boyfriend led to my wishes of what to do in case anything were to happen. It wasn’t something that was easy for them to hear. If there were no brain activity after a week, no extraordinary measures should be given to me.
This is based on quality of life. It doesn’t need to be fussed over because of my independence.
What kind of life would it be if one were to be in bed with tubes coming out from every which way? Not a life at all.
People can argue that life is priceless but hospitals are expensive. The debt that families are left with is the last thing that’s wanted from the dying family member.
There are many commercials on life insurance but how many college students actually have it?
The time frame of a week will give family members a chance to say farewell.
Some may argue that by creating an advanced directive that it was like committing suicide and that would lead to hell, but that’s ridiculous. As a person who was raised Catholic and believing in God, if the brain was no longer functioning and telling the organs what to do, then you’re already dead.
God has called for the spirit to come home so all that would be left is an earthly shell hooked up to machines.
The bottom line is that this decision would be a personal one and a decision that should be made before anything tragic happens. It should be discussed with loved ones. Quality of life over the quantity of it.
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Counterpoint by: Rebeka Nop
Death is an inevitable thing but if you’re able to hang on to even an ounce of life, wouldn’t you want to?
Especially if it’s the life of a loved one that is on the line.
Life can get really complicated, especially with a full work and school schedule, making time for friends and then having to think about if you should keep your loved one on life support at the hospital.
It’s a tough decision to make and it could easily put everything else on the back burner.
If you are the sole person responsible for deciding the life of another human being, would you really choose to kill them?
This is definitely a decision that you can never take back.
That’s basically the same thing when it comes to life support. You are choosing to either keep the person alive or to send them to their grave.
Personally, life shouldn’t be given up on that easily.
Life is precious. Even if they are just lying there lifelessly on a hospital bed, it’s important to cherish every moment you are able to have with them.
It’s unfair to pull the plug. It’s basically saying you’re giving up.
As long as they are still breathing, even if it’s because of a machine, there’s still hope for them to get better.
It’s unimaginable to wake up and make such a tough, life altering decision like that and find out later that there was a way to make them better.
If placed in this situation, I would want to be kept alive as long as possible. Being a fighter, it would make me extremely sad to know that I was given up on, that my friends and family members didn’t think I had the heart or was strong enough to fight for my life.
Just because someone is lying in a hospital bed, motionless and seemingly lifeless, it doesn’t mean that they can’t hear or feel someone’s presence.
You want to give your loved ones their best chance possible and if that means spending some extra money so that you’re able to see them every day, then so be it.
It’s a selfish thing, to want to hang on when you know you should be letting go but keeping them alive just seems like the right thing to do.
If it was really their time to go, then death would’ve already gotten them. It doesn’t make sense if they made it all the way to the hospital just to die.
Why would we have all this technology if life support wasn’t important? If it didn’t work?
Medicine is always changing and there are always new discoveries. You just need to hang on a little bit longer.
