  The
pros and cons of death
Both Philip
Nitschke and Petrea
King work with people who are dying and have very different
ideas about death. They explored social attitudes towards death
and consider the rights of the individual presenting their different
perspectives on dying with dignity.
Peace in the heart of anguish
King considered life as a roller coaster ride and stressed the
importance of developing a certain knowledge on how to maintain
the journey of life so that it has meaning for each individual.
This is the planet where the unexpected happens on a regular basis
and we need to do what we can to reduce suffering and prepare ourselves
for it. Through our confrontation with mortality, we can confront
ourselves with questions about our lives and the quality of those
lives. King asked will the adverse conditions of our lives define
who we are or will we rise to the occasion? Waiting in fear for
death postpones the peace and what is possible in the present and
the path of peace frequently lies in the heart of anguish.
King explained that we are here to grasp the qualities of life
and points to four qualities that make our peace of mind.
File: king.mp3 Duration: 16:53 Size: 1.3MB
Empowerment through knowledge
A campaigner for voluntary euthanasia, Nitschke considered whether
people should have information about death and who should get that
information. The question about knowledge presented problems because
society is so keen to partition off the dying so we don't have to
think about death. Subsequently, there is a great deal of difficulty
accepting that people want access to information.
In his lecture, Nitschke discussed the passage of voluntary euthanasia
legislation in the Northern Territory, the human rights issues associated
with voluntary euthanasia and the need for information about dying
to be available as a means for people assuming control over their
lives.
File: nitschke.mp3 Duration: 18:51 Size: 1.4MB
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