So, I saw this article in the news today: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/06/5-key-points-about-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-doctor-assisted-suicide.html

I must admit to some very mixed feelings on this. My own father died of Stomach Cancer in 2009, and his last few weeks on earth were extremely painful. I am quite certain that dad, if he had the option, would have selected a deliberate exit from life earlier than he ended up leaving. It likely would have been far less painful for him, and far easier for us his family. In our discussions of this, I have discovered that all the members of my family are in favor of euthanasia being a legally accessible option.

In some discussions with friends on the topic I see an interesting trend. Many people without the experience of a slow and painful death in their life are often against euthanasia, citing arguments about slippery slopes, forced euthanasia, and other issues. Health professionals and those who have experienced this on the other hand tend to favor legalized euthanasia.

However as a Naturopathic Doctor, I have a unique perspective on this issue. Much of the debate surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide relates to the idea of suffering being intolerable and unrelievable, many diseases being incurable, and many of the misconceptions of Conventional medicine surrounding death.

A little background is perhaps appropriate. Conventional (or Allopathic) Medicine generally looks at the body as a biomechanical machine. Disease symptoms are signs of malfunction of the machine and are usually suppressed, returning the machine to the parameters we have statistically determined to be normal. Death is the result of the machine ceasing function altogether. It is assumed that due to evolutionary selection, the body will attempt to continue functioning at all costs, even through incredible pain and suffering. While generally not explicitly mentioned, it is assumed that consciousness is a byproduct of brain functioning, and which ceases completely after death, ignoring a great deal of research that refutes this assumption (see here and here).

Naturopathic Medicine views the body as a whole functioning towards a given purpose, which is life experience. Diseases are usually methods the body has towards restoring itself towards its own internal steady state. Death itself is viewed as a gradual shutdown of systems, a deliberate process of physiological shutdown allowing for the consciousness of the individual, which is usually perceived as a thing somewhat independent from the brain, to leave life peacefully and happily with a minimum of pain and trauma. Death in this viewpoint is viewed as a deliberate process of life termination, which can be interfered with by suppressive medications and chronic illness. (see a previous post of mine on the subject here)

In Conventional terms, the problem with the death process is the bodies’ tendency to fight to maintain life despite a great deal of pain and suffering. With this idea in mind, the only two options are heavy narcotics to relieve pain, such as opiate drugs like morphine and heroin, or deliberate termination of life.

In Naturopathic terms, the problem with the death process is that many people nowadays cannot complete it in a healthy way. Death is seen as a physiological process of shutdown which is impaired by chronic illness and much of the suppressive medication which is commonly used in modern society. Proper Naturopathic care allows the body to complete this death process, and allows the consciousness to make peace with it’s experience on earth before moving on to it’s next experience.

I do accept the Naturopathic Death perspective as the correct one. I have had the privilege of helping people make their transition to the next life, without drugs. Placing people on a good homeopathic remedies, and other Naturopathic methods helps this physiological process progress quickly, and will often speed up the dying process, without the ethical problem of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

My concern with the legalization of allopathic assisted suicide is simply that it presupposes that allopathic medical practices are the only possible options for a patient. A patient who could easily be treated by a Naturopathic Doctor, have their pain and suffering relieved, and have their death process complete in a timely manner without needing in the vast majority of cases to take active steps hastening death. One merely can create the conditions in which the bodies natural death process can occur, and a comfortable and peaceful transition occurs at a fair timeframe, minimizing pain and suffering.

Allowing assisted suicide is a good thing. It will allow for pain relief for many people who either have no access to Naturopathic methods, do not wish to use them, or for whom they are ineffective. However I am concerned that assisted suicide will simply serve to conceal the shortcomings of allopathic medicine even further. Why work to improve the dismal performance of allopathic medicine in pain management and palliation if one can simply use assisted suicide. Why examine the failures of allopathic ideas about health and the body if patients can simply be eased into death when those ideas meet their long term outcome?.