Dignitas: to live with dignity, to die with dignity.

 

For the first time I heard this organization -- dignitas -- was when I watched ME BEFORE YOU. I thought it was the same thing as euthanasia where the doctor 'gives something' to a terminally ill patient to help the patient end his or her suffering. The permission of doing this can be in the hand of the patient himself or herself or one member family of the patient. 

In fact, Switzerland does not approve the practice of euthanasia, where the patient sometimes seems helpless to determine his or her own life or death. On the contrary, Switzerland legally approves the practice of committing suicide where the patient does it by himself or herself.  Dignitas provides the service to accompany the patient when he or she commits suicide. 

To this point, my heart was broken more into smaller pieces when remembering how Louisa Clark failed to ensure Will that he would find his life meaningful and useful if he chose to go on living. Louisa apparently would love Will no matter what happens (not like Alicia who chose to leave Will and marry his best friend) and accompany him for the rest of their life. Will, on the other hand, loved Louisa so deeply that he didn't want to burden her life by going on living. 

Absolutely understood when nearing his last moment in life, Will wanted to be accompanied by Louisa -- not just his parents -- because he loved her and he was sure that Louisa loved him accordingly.

P.S.:

da*n, I still cannot move on from this movie. 

you perhaps would like to read this writing of mine here.  

 

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