Respect for life: Palliative care
Bridget Marshall & Kathleen Field
At the Day of life Greeting in 2013, Pope Francis said. ‘Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect’.
Those working in hospices and for palliative care have the opportunity to be witness to the vulnerable, physically weak and those who fear they will be a burden on others. They are also witness to immense resilience, courage and hope.
Palliative care is the care of those who are facing a life-limiting illness. It is not limited to a place, such as a hospice, or to any particular diagnosis. Palliative care involves attention of the whole person – body, mind, spirit – and those who care for them, their family and whānau. It aligns well to the Māori model of health Te whare tapa whare, whereby all elements of a person are equally important.
Advances in palliative care medicine mean there is now no longer any need for a person to die in pain. At the end stages of an illness, when curative treatment is no longer effective, the priority of care becomes to provide sufficient pain relief for the person to remain comfortable. Good support at end of life is a basic human right and one we must continue to engage with as a society demand.
There is a debate around whether euthanasia and assisted suicide should become an option in New Zealand. All New Zealanders must ensure they are informed of the implications of living in a society where killing some of its members is tolerated.
To this end, a small working group of the local Justice Development and Peace Commission has been meeting in Palmerston North. It aim to raise awareness of the issues surrounding euthanasia and to alert people to the dangers of complacency in the debate surrounding it and assisted suicide. Similar groups have been established in Whanganui, Taranaki and Hawkes Bay.The hope is each group will become active in each region, establish wide local networks across culture, religion, age and background and decide on regionally-appropriate ways of making information accessible to all.
Contact Kathleen Field to be part of the Palmerston North Diocese regional group or network. For more information, visit www.nathaniel.org.nz www.euthanasiadebate.org.nz, or www.carealliance.org.nz
Kathleen Field and Bridget Marshall are members of the Palmerston North End of Life Issues Working Group.