Health: The Hardest Choice
The Right to Die?
死亡的權(quán)利？
How would you cope if you had a terminal illness? What if your son or daughter had no hope of ever having a normal life due to a life-threatening condition?
In the UK, the question of assisted suicide or refusing medical treatment is extremely divisive and controversial; euthanasia is illegal in Britain, as is the act of helping a terminally-ill person to kill themselves.
However, a 13-year-old English girl has won the right to refuse medical treatment this week after a hospital dropped a legal bid to force her to have a heart transplant.
Hannah Jones, who has spent eight years in and out of hospital battling leukaemia and heart problems, told child protection officers she wanted to die with dignity rather than face the operation and have to take constant medication afterwards.
Despite initial efforts by her local health authority to remove Hannah from her family and force her to undergo the transplant, legal and medical experts said that a child of her age was able to make an informed decision to refuse treatment.
Hannah’s decision to stop treatment and spend the rest of her life at home with her family was made entirely by herself, according to her father, who spoke of his admiration for her.
"Hannah made that decision consciously on her own, a bit like a grown up, even though she was only 12 at the time, and she has maintained that decision," said Andrew Jones.
The headmaster of Hannah’s school described her as intelligent and capable of making her own decisions.
"Her presence is a source of inspiration to us all through the courage and dignity that she displays," he said.
GLOSSARY 詞匯表
terminal illness 晚期疾病
assisted suicide （被）協(xié)助自殺
divisive 導(dǎo)致分裂的
euthanasia 安樂死
heart transplant 心臟移植
child protection officers 保護兒童官員
operation 手術(shù)
undergo 接受
grown up 成年人
source of inspiration 精神鼓舞的源泉
life-threatening condition 威脅生命的狀況
refusing medical treatment 拒絕治療
controversial 有爭議的
legal bid 法律命令
leukaemia 白血病
dignity 尊嚴
health authority 醫(yī)療
admiration 仰慕
maintained 保持
courage 勇氣
The Right to Die?
死亡的權(quán)利？
How would you cope if you had a terminal illness? What if your son or daughter had no hope of ever having a normal life due to a life-threatening condition?
In the UK, the question of assisted suicide or refusing medical treatment is extremely divisive and controversial; euthanasia is illegal in Britain, as is the act of helping a terminally-ill person to kill themselves.
However, a 13-year-old English girl has won the right to refuse medical treatment this week after a hospital dropped a legal bid to force her to have a heart transplant.
Hannah Jones, who has spent eight years in and out of hospital battling leukaemia and heart problems, told child protection officers she wanted to die with dignity rather than face the operation and have to take constant medication afterwards.
Despite initial efforts by her local health authority to remove Hannah from her family and force her to undergo the transplant, legal and medical experts said that a child of her age was able to make an informed decision to refuse treatment.
Hannah’s decision to stop treatment and spend the rest of her life at home with her family was made entirely by herself, according to her father, who spoke of his admiration for her.
"Hannah made that decision consciously on her own, a bit like a grown up, even though she was only 12 at the time, and she has maintained that decision," said Andrew Jones.
The headmaster of Hannah’s school described her as intelligent and capable of making her own decisions.
"Her presence is a source of inspiration to us all through the courage and dignity that she displays," he said.
GLOSSARY 詞匯表
terminal illness 晚期疾病
assisted suicide （被）協(xié)助自殺
divisive 導(dǎo)致分裂的
euthanasia 安樂死
heart transplant 心臟移植
child protection officers 保護兒童官員
operation 手術(shù)
undergo 接受
grown up 成年人
source of inspiration 精神鼓舞的源泉
life-threatening condition 威脅生命的狀況
refusing medical treatment 拒絕治療
controversial 有爭議的
legal bid 法律命令
leukaemia 白血病
dignity 尊嚴
health authority 醫(yī)療
admiration 仰慕
maintained 保持
courage 勇氣