Exactly. When my dad was dying last summer, I had some time to think seriously and personally about the issue of euthanasia. I asked myself if I would, or could, give him something to kill him quickly, rather than letting nature take its course. Part of the answer was based on my knowing the man and how he felt about suicide, which he had some serious objections to, as it was against his personal code of ethics for living. Part of the answer was in the question of whether or not dying is to be looked at as wholly unnatural or somehow an oddity, which it is not. So many of us spend much of our lives trying to avoid confronting the issue of death and dying, as if it's somehow a taboo subject that we do not want to face with sobriety. Dying is every bit as natural as birth and living, and my father realized that. It seems to be generally believed that there is no psychological or personal value in the process, but I tend to believe that the process aids us in resolving some psychological issues that we may have been carrying around for a lifetime, and it is not my wish to artificially end that process for anyone, especially someone I love.
I wanted to be there for him, and let him know that I loved him more than words can say. I wanted to comfort him in his time of need, and let him reconcile all that his life had been and die with some peace of mind. These are the things that make a life worth living, and a peaceful resolution when the end of it arrives.