depressing

Two stories hit the news today that shocked me both in different ways. The first involves a 13 year old girl named Hannah who is British and would like to die. She has been suffering from Leukaemia since the age of 4 and as a result of an early treatment developed a heart failure and now needs a heart transplant. She however decided that she did not want to get treated any more. Her parents supported her in her decision, but then the hospital called in the child protection agency who – obviously – threatened to take her away from her parents and treat her against her wish. The case has now been dropped by a high court after hearing evidence directly from Hannah. So basically it is officially OK for her to die. She has been all over the news explaining that there was no scientific evidence that the heart transplant would help her and that she has been treated all her life and she just wants no more. She is 13. Thirteen. And as she is thirteen, she also wants to go to Disneyland in the US - kind of as a last trip before she dies. Of course this is a big issue as no travel insurance agency would cover her so she cannot go. But that is not the story here.

The other story involves another 13 year old girl that just blew herself up in Baquba, north of Baghdad in Iraq killing 4 people. I don't have more background information on this. No cute little girl talking about it on TV - obviously. No picture, no name, nothing.

Both shocking in their own way and both showing the disturbed times we live in. In the case of Hannah, I am not her nor I am her parent or the high court judge involved and I am very glad about that. There are many things to consider however. There is the message to others of course. What about other children with terminal diseases? What about other grownups with terminal diseases? Would they have decided differently had they access to unlimited medical resources? Why are they giving up? Again - I am not judging here as I don't have the right to decide for them, just trying to ask questions about the moral issue here.

The 13 year old girl blowing herself up for something somebody told her would be worth it just makes me equally puzzled. I don't have a solution for world peace (surprise ;) and don't want to say how evil she was or how evil others were that told her to do it. Again I am not fingerpointing here.

Two completely different stories with lots of similarities though. Both girls were born in the same year. Both decided to die when they were 13. One directly killed others by making her decision; one might influence others in choosing to die by having made the same decision herself. The moral implications are very similar even though one of them is on TV right now smiling and the other is only mentioned in a newspaper article.

I could be completely wrong here of course - maybe I am just tired and I should stop watching CSI-NY while writing on the blog. Or maybe I should continue reading that book once I am back home. I am looking forward to another sunny day tomorrow :)