Watch: Majority Of Personal And Heartfelt Stories Backed Euthanasia, Says Rebecca Buttigieg
Reforms parliamentary secretary Rebecca Buttigieg recounted some emotional personal stories she encountered during a public consultation process on the proposed legalisation of voluntary euthanasia.
Buttigieg said in Parliament that while she appreciated everyone’s feedback, she was most impacted by the personal stories of people whose lives were impacted by terminal illness.
And she said that the vast majority of these people spoke out in favour of the principle to legalise voluntary euthanasia, with some even warning that the government’s proposal was too restrictive.
“They found the courage to speak out publicly about what their relatives passed through, what they saw with their own eyes, and what they’re scared they will face one day due to hereditary conditions,” she said.
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“These people stood up, sometimes with tears in their eyes, and spoke out. You could tell how much they love their relatives, and after seeing them pass through so much pain, they agreed with the principle of voluntary assisted euthanasia.”
Among the people who spoke out was Anna, who said in Mosta that after a relative of hers was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a medical consultant told them that “the sooner this suffering ends, the better it would be”.
“However, they ended up suffering for a year and a half.”
At a meeting in Fgura, Joanna recounted how her father – a lover of life – had requested to be euthanised after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness because he wished to die with a sense of dignity.
“However, he didn’t have a choice. He had to keep on suffering until death finally took him after a lot of physical and emotional pain.”
Meanwhile, nursing student Martina and her mother said that Huntington’s Disease runs in their family and that they want the option for voluntary euthanasia to be open to them too.
“When you listen to these experiences, you must stop and think; you cannot be indifferent to their pain. I am caught in a dilemma where I must put myself in these people’s shoes while at the same time give society peace of mind that if we go for legislation, we must have the strongest regulatory regime.”
She stressed that voluntary euthanasia shouldn’t be viewed as an alternative to palliative care and that the proposed law will still allow people to make free choices.
“This will only be for the few cases where there is no treatment or hope for life. It isn’t a choice between life and death, but a choice between death and death because the death process would have already begun.”
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