** Disclaimer: This journal entry contains spoilers to Million Dollar **
** Baby, so don't read on if you haven't seen the movie and still intend to. **
So, I watched Million Dollar Baby tonight. It was not at all what I was expecting. I'd put off seeing it because, quite frankly, I'm not interested in any way in boxing, and to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. (Although I will admit I almost gave up in the middle "training montage" section.)
Of course, if you've seen the movie, you know that the last third of the movie is about a patient's right to die. Of course, this isn't exactly a new topic. I'm sure most of us have thought about it from time to time. When it came up in a Law & Order episode. When someone we loved got sick.
To be honest, I'm not sure that I know what I would do if someone I loved were to ask me to help him/her die. I lost three grandparents and my mother in a two-year period a few years ago, and it was horrible. But none of them ever wanted to die but... couldn't. My mother always fought for what she wanted, and a few more months of life ... well, that was no exception. Even if I could have spared her the indignity of all that comes with intense and ultimately useless cancer treatments, I'm not sure I would have, because I don't think she ever would have wanted me to.
But what would I have done if she had asked? If I could have spared her all that she endured? I'm not sure I would know unless I actually had to decide.