A sharing by Ling Sing Lin
To die with dignity, one must have lived with dignity.
—- Lim Soo Ping
Living with dignity means that whatever your financial situation, you should be able to access healthcare and information. You have the right to make decisions about your own body and health. Dignity is your sense of self respect. Living with dignity is being valued and respected for what you are and how you live your life. You should also treat others the way you want to be treated. I encourage you to read Dignity is Our Birthright.
Living with Dignity in Old Age
This is when the elderly is treated with respect and dignity. They are listened to and their values understood. They should accept and receive help with tasks which have become more challenging. They should be involved in conversations, rather than being treated as non existent even though they are in the same room. Even if the elderly are not communicative, their facial expressions and body language are important clues to their thoughts and feelings. Having a social network in old age is crucial, especially for elderly living alone. They should not be embarrassed to accept help and friendship, which enhances their lives.
Dying with Dignity
This means a dignified death. This refers to end-of-life processes that avoid or reduce suffering, and maintain a certain degree of control and autonomy for the dying person. It is therefore an extension of a dignified life, in which the person retains their dignity and freedom till the end.
There are many articles in this Age Well Everyday blog by Taido on end-of-life issues, many of them dealing with dying with dignity.
Euthanasia
However, dying with dignity has been frequently associated with the right to die, as in voluntary euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, etc.
Euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Australia.
Suicide Tourism
You may have heard of Suicide Tourism or Euthanasia Tourism, where people travel to die by suicide or assisted suicide, in a country where euthanasia is legal.
My Personal View
As a Christian, where we believe that it is God who gives life, to take our own lives is sinful. So, to me, euthanasia is out of the question, period.
Dying Alone
This has been featured in the Straits Times “Why are Singapore’s elderly still dying alone, undiscovered for weeks?” I think the issue is not so much dying alone, which is to be expected with many elderly living alone. It is that the death is not discovered for weeks. This is the result of not having a social network.
Dying alone is not always a bad death or a symptom of societal malaise. The greater tragedy is the forgotten and invisible elderly, way before their deaths.
This brings us back to living with dignity in old age, where a social network is crucial, especially for elderly living alone. Hence “to die with dignity, one must have lived with dignity”.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
