Blog Archives
Compassion and Choices; compost yourself!
Posted by Maryann
Following up on our previous post, we as a Village have become an organizational member of Compassion and Choices Virginia. We’ll be watching to see if/when our legislature gets on board, and reminding them that this is an issue important to seniors AND WE VOTE. Have you written to your legislators?
The NY Times has been on fire lately with articles about seniors’ issues. Yesterday, it was this one about human composting.
For many of us, the idea of a ‘traditional’ burial in a lead-lined box after having liters of formaldehyde injected into our (collapsed) veins seems like a vast waste of money, space, and resources, not to mention the potential for pollution. Cremation appeals to some, but here you can read about the associated downsides.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: assisted dying, cremation, green burial, human composting
Death, with dignity? Who decides?
Posted by Maryann
Should Virginians have the right to medical aid in dying, like our neighbors in DC have (as well as our fellow citizens of Oregon, Washington, and Vermont, among others)? We say YES. Because right now, our only option for a controlled exit is not a very pleasant one: voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Here is one story about how that works.
Reading it through, and imagining ourselves in this situation, was difficult. It should not take multiple days of suffering to end one’s life when one is ready to do so. We don’t put our cherished companion animals through such torment. And to those worried about misuse, safeguards can be written into laws.
How can we make it happen? Start by writing to your state legislators. If you don’t know who they are, you can find out here. They all have email addresses. Tell them this is an issue important to you and your friends and you all vote regularly.