tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8789292.post4651482592855876371..comments2023-08-29T13:34:19.267+01:00Comments on Valzhalla: Life, and other kinds of existenceValda Redfernhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18375583444323538525noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8789292.post-40944657869245930762008-07-28T23:03:00.000+01:002008-07-28T23:03:00.000+01:00Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you made that p...Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you made that point about the way the GMC treated Dr Kerr, because the predicament of doctors who truly do have their patients' best interests at heart upsets me just as much as that of people like Patient A.Valda Redfernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18375583444323538525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8789292.post-52482929400882825122008-07-27T23:40:00.000+01:002008-07-27T23:40:00.000+01:00I agree with you. I'm not able to contemplate wha...I agree with you. I'm not able to contemplate what it would take for someone like "Patient A" to say that non-existence is better than living under those conditions, but that's exactly the reason why I -- and groups like the GMC -- need to be kept out of the matter. Only one individual had to suffer through the circumstances that Patient A had to endure, and that's she. On what grounds can another person interfere with her decision to stop living under those circumstances? Not someone who respects Patient A's right to her life. <BR/><BR/>When the GMC said that the doctor was acting in the patient's "best interests," what exactly was her best interest? To suffer in agony? To be forced to take more risky methods to do what she's going to do anyway? I don't know Patient A, but I'm willing to bet that if there was another alternative to end the pain she would have chosen it. <BR/><BR/>I think that the way the GMC is punishing this doctor is a horrible, back-handed way for them to dictate to others how they should live their lives. Apparently they have a problem with the right of a patient to end their lives, but they can't make suicide illegal. And even if they could, there would be no way to enforce it. So instead, the GMC punishes a doctor for holding a contrary position than theirs. They point to his role in the suicide, but that's just an excuse to punish him -- not a reason to punish him. They'll let their arbitrary rules on doctors and let the effects trickle-down to the patients.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15582845477209516725noreply@blogger.com