評論
打印
Books & arts
文藝板塊
Book review
書評
The right to die
死亡的權力
Going gently
安樂死
The Inevitable. By Katie Engelhart.
《不可避免》。作者：凱蒂·恩格哈特
If it is humane to put down a dog in unbearable and incurable pain, why not extend the same right to humans if they want it? That question echoes through “ The Inevitable” as it follows four people in search of a good death—and in fear of a bad one.
如果殺死一只沉浸在難以忍受且無法治愈的痛苦之中的狗狗是人道的，那為什么想要得到解脫的人類卻無法擁有同樣的權力？《不可避免》對這一問題給出了答案，書中講述了畏懼痛苦死亡而尋求安樂死的4個人。
Katie Engelhart’s deeply researched and beautifully reported book raises familiar quandaries. Do people have a right to die on their own terms? Should doctors help? Do motivations matter? And might a right become a duty for everyone who grows old, dependent or demented? It also considers less publicised problems, such as: how do people actually die? Advances in medicine and technology that have made pills and appliances safer have made it harder to achieve an “ easy” or “peaceful” death for those who seek one.
凱蒂·恩格哈特的這本研究深入、內容精妙的書引發了人們熟悉的困惑。人們有權按照自己的方式死去嗎？醫生應該幫忙嗎？動機重要嗎？安樂死的這項權利是否會成為每一個老人、被贍養人或癡呆病人的義務？書中還考慮了一些不太公開的問題，例如：人們實際上是如何死亡的？藥物和技術上的進步使藥片和醫療器械更加安全可靠，也使得尋求安樂死的人更難輕松平和地死亡。
As policymakers and ethicists ponder these moral conundrums, around the world people are taking matters into their own hands, a trend that gives Ms Engelhart’s book its urgency. Faced with intolerable suffering, her subjects have largely given up on laws and doctors and instead turn to strangers on the internet for help. For instance, Avril Henry, a British octogenarian, spent her nights “marinating in her pain” and considered eating lethal fungi from her garden to end it. But “death by mushroom could be slow, messy, painful. The Nembutal would work better.” The “Peaceful Pill Handbook” suggested buying that drug from either a vet-supply store in Mexico or the Chinese black market. Doubtful about Chinese merchandise, Henry settled on Mexico.
當政策制定者和倫理學家思考其中的道德難題時，世界各地的人們選擇用自己的方式解決，這一趨勢使恩格哈特的書充斥著緊迫感。面對無法忍受的痛苦折磨，她的研究對象大多放棄了法律，對醫生也不再抱有希望，他們轉而求助互聯網上的陌生人。例如，英國八旬老人艾薇兒·亨利夜間常疼痛難耐，她考慮吃下花園里的致命真菌來結束痛苦。但是“蘑菇引發的死亡可能緩慢、混亂、痛苦。戊巴比妥鈉的效果更好。”《和平藥丸手冊》建議從墨西哥的寵物用品店或中國黑市購買這種藥。但亨利對中國黑市的藥品存疑，最后選定從墨西哥購買。
Over several years, Ms Engelhart’s main characters meticulously plan their escapes from old age, dementia and chronic or mental illness. She also follows two doctors, one of whom lost his licence for teaching people how to “exit” via “DIY death seminars”.
恩格哈特書中的主人公用多年時間精心策劃了他們從老年、癡呆和慢性病或精神疾病中解脫出來的過程。她還描繪了兩位醫生的經歷，其中一名醫生因通過“DIY死亡研討會”教人們如何“解脫”而失去了執照。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
