Tea at Trianon: Grief, Suffering and Euthanasia

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, October 12, 2018

Grief, Suffering and Euthanasia

From the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition:

She offered to care for her grandfather, but he refused. I am not a medical professional, but grief after the death of a family member is normal. If her grandfather had died by suicide or homicide grief counselors would treat her pain and suffering in a serious manner. Since her grandfather died by euthanasia (a legal homicide) she was told that "it was his choice" and "if she loved him she would be supportive."

She sought help from counselors but they refused to speak about euthanasia. She told me that no one was willing to help her deal with her grief and suffering because her grandfather died by euthanasia and that she is expected to "be happy for him."

I asked her to write about her experience. There are no easy answers to extreme grief, but to write it out and acknowledge her pain may bring some healing. I also told her that she can talk to me about it. I do not claim to be a counselor but I understand her pain.

Her grandfather died by a legal killing and whether he asked for it or not, her grandfather was abandoned. He felt that his life was not worth living and two doctors not only agreed they lethally injected him. They couldn't use the excuse that he was dying anyway, in his case they must have thought that they wouldn't want to live like him either. (Read more.)