My Thoughts on the Movie, "October" - An Outlook on Lifespan Ethics.

This movie is a really relatable depiction of medical ethics and lifespan ethics. The field experts are in a continuous debate on the matter of ending one's life or not when s/he is going through a critical condition in terms of physical health. At a critical stage where a family member has been put on ventilation, and the chances of survival are very low. Doctor asks you to decide whether you want to switch off the ventilator and let the person die peacefully or you want to continue the efforts (keeping this in mind ventilator itself is a trauma for physical body). 

It's a really complicated situation where your ethics neither allows you to let a person die in front of you nor it allows you to see your relative/best friend/spouse in such a traumatic pain while resuscitating him/her again and again through different physically hurtful techniques. 

It made me wonder, in a situation like this, who am I to decide for the patient. And even if I am being given the authority to decide then my decision should be based on what factor? What if my decision is influenced by the financial burden that the family gets because of medical equipment being used in treatment? What if my decision gets influenced by the fear of losing oneself, that despite the patient's unwillingness, I keep on pushing the odds to bring him/her back in life? What if my decision is bold enough to let him/her die in peace despite the fact that the recovery of the patient is slow but it's there? 

Too much of thinking is required to decide on such critical matters. It's a great concern for how we should decide. I think if only we know the patient from within, then we will be able to decide on his/her behalf. Third person perspective will always get influenced by worldly matters. It may not see the life of a patient as him/herself. So before you decide, try to put yourself in the patient's shoes, try imagining from the first-person perspective. And a 90 percent empathetic decision will be made only if you know the patient by his/her heart.

We should try our best to know someone deeper beneath their shells when we spent time with them. Because then only we will be able to predict what s/he might have decided upon such a situation. It is saddening and really unfortunate that in this century of extreme connectedness, we are not really connected to our loved ones. We spent a lot of time putting pictures with them on social media, but we really don't know what's inside their heart? How they behave nonchalantly? What's their outlook on life? Ask yourselves do we know each other very well? Do we discuss such essential and sensitive topics over a cup of tea?

Let me be honest. To some extent, I try to communicate with my mother and my sister. I try to know their opinions on such matters. But I've never succeeded. People are either scared to open up. They are scared to share their insecurities. Even I'm scared to share my insecurities. Or in other instances, the shared thinking of our society may not allow us to talk about such a sensitive topic in an open family communication. And when you have a sister like me, she'll always pass the comment that "I'm fed up from inside, bezariat toh dekho is k andr!" But there's always one person in our lives, with whom we are comfortable to share almost anything. Whether you're that special person for someone else or you already have s special person in your life, try to open up as much as you can. Don't let your emotions, your thoughts, your possessions captured within you, Let them flow. Let your loved ones dive deeper into your heart. And on the first note, do practice thinking on such important issues. 

P.S. 

Whenever I discuss my dying will with my mother, that after my death all my books should be given to so and so person. My mother says, "Pagal hngae hai ye larki. Isey ilaj ki zarurat hai... " i.e. to say "She has gone mad. She needs treatment..."

Sheliza Hyder