Life before death

With the debate about euthanasia growing - and more moves to support the principle of dignity in death happening (e.g in Guernsey) - perhaps more needs to be said about the lives of people who are facing their imminent demise. I am sure that some who describe themselves as 'pro-life' believe that such periods in our lives give us the opportunity to repent, to seek atonement or at the least act as guinea pigs for the advancement of medical science. For many who face eternal annihilation the prospect will seem daunting - the very idea that our self will be extinguished for all time is on the surface a worrying thought, even if we won't be around to think it.

So I was inspired by a previously mentioned book I have just finished reading, Natural Causes by Barabara Ehrenreich which relates how trials in the US have found that giving the terminally ill LSD helps them release themselves from this attachment to the "I" and allows them to approach the inevitable with greater equanimity. It's a long time since I last dropped a tab of acid, and I have sometimes wondered what it would be like to try it again, nearly fifty years later. Of course, one thing that is off-putting is the possibility that in some way the LSD available today could be tampered with or suspect in some way. But if it were available in properly controlled conditions, might it not be preferable to morphine, say? When my time comes, I'd like something to look forward to, as well as dignity in death of course. But the starched shirt establishment wouldn't allow it. They'd fret that it might give us a bad trip.