Key Issues.
- Does Ken have a right to die?
Ken feels his life isn’t worth living due to what he has to put up with and how he is limited to what he van actually do. Why should he have to live a life he doesn’t want to? When he makes decisions, no-one listens to him, he feels like they should be living his life instead of him, because he never gets a say, in what happens around him or to him.
Even though Dr.Emmerson felt like he was constantly fighting against Ken, I think he always had Ken’s best interests in mind. He never thought about how he, himself, would come out at the end of it all. Even though Ken really badly wanted to do something, Dr.Emmerson and Dr.Scott didn’t let him do it because they didn’t think it was the right thing to do. They thought that once Ken was able to have things to help him, like an electronic wheelchair, he would feel better about himself, this will then give him more independence and understanding of why so many people want to help.
There are a lot of people who love and care for Ken, and do not want to see him die, this is why they are all helping him so much. Even though the doctors seem as if they are just doing their job because they have to, they are helping him because they want to, they don’t want anyone to die especially those that can be helped. They could have seen Ken as a big problem but instead they think of him in a more positive light and try to work with him instead of against him.
Ken’s quality of life isn’t nearly as good as anyone else’s. He thinks that they should let him die, as he will be quadriplegic. The doctors told him he would never walk, use his arms or use his hands again. This makes him feel that he is like an object instead of a person, he feels if he is an object he can’t be loved and so he tells Pat he doesn’t love her anymore. Even though he feels like this, people working with him try to show him he can still enjoy himself, Joey and John take him to the basement, he enjoys himself, but still thinks the same. The doctors tell him different things that they could do for him to improve his quality of life, he still isn’t persuaded to change his mind, he sees no point, he knows what his life could have been like before the accident and this makes things worse for him.
What Would I Do?
If I were in this position I would most probably be very depressed and useless. Even I would be like this I would want to try and get on with my life, I wouldn’t give up I would be as positive as I could, this would help me do things and get through different challenges. I don’t think I would want to die, because God has given us the gift of life and if he didn’t want us to be here, we wouldn’t. God chooses what major decisions he wants us to make and he always helps us to do the right thing.
