1998 School Magazine

Girls 6rammar ^, thoul ;!artsbane 1998

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WINNER BETTY WOOLCOCK CHAl, IFNGE Cup 1997

To Evenlytnn^g There Is A Season 1/14st tobi/e 1618 tczl/? Ibej^;'(;lions bot{Is Are bringing Izecir the he'llse 6171d/70/08rs" - A1, BERT Fox JR (1900)

' o everything there is a season and a time to every longer as a fact of life. Our society raises vast sums of money purpose under heaven'. .. a reassuring biblical motto to fund the battle against major killers such as cancer and heart t has stood the test of time. However as our adlierence to disease in order that we may delay our date with destiny as long tha

, as our adlierence to the Ten Commandments has dwindled, so too has OUT affirma- tion of this CTedo. Things are supposed to happen when God judges the In good and ready, yet man today is trying to gain more and nTore control ova life's unpredictable nature. We believe God is no longer central to our existence, and instead, we place all the responsibility and decisions of life and death in the ITands of the medical practitionei The human race has always tried to shift the focus of life and death from God's will in order. to ease its own conscience. in ancient times, asti. o10gists believed that a htiman being's life could be charted at birth, by simply studying the nTo veinent of celestial bodies. Such practices have been largely discredited over the centuries, and replaced by a more accurate means of predicting life's changes. This new practice can be evei\ more in ahtening than the wrath of God, for these present day postLilates are based on Inedical fact, not something as open to question and inLirable as the constellations of the zodiac or the omnipotence, indeed the very existence, of God People initially placed their faith in the asti'o10gists because medical technologies were primitive and doctors encouraged the alternative itlethod of spiritual rather than physical healing Present day availability of life-saving technologies is prompting increasing public faith in the Inedical profession whereas previously all one could do was play and 11'List in God's will, seeking consolation in the sci. iptural niessage, "The Loid giveth and the Lord taketli away" Society no longer takes advice from mere constellations and scripture, but from high-reclT screening devices, satellites, and coilTplex niachinery The zodiac's I>asis of the billlt date is becoming increasingly meaningless willT the growing Lise of technologies I'etating to the billlT process. The indLiction of laboLir and LISe of contracep- lion controls LITe billl\ of the child to when it is convenient, ITot when it is 111e child's destiny. As lullet questioned, "WITat's in a name", we 111ust flirthei' question the otlierimpoi'tant pal't of oui individ\Iality and identity; what's in a bittl\ date? Just as oui' billlt date ITas been controlled by innovative technologies, nTainly for the convenience of doctors, arteiTTpts have been Inade to control life expectancy. HLimans are becoming increasingly unwilling to accept then' inevitable fate Death is seen as the erreit\y and something to be foLight, no 1.15

as possible. issues such as euthanasia and cryogenics, once subject matter for science fiction, are becoming topics for denuine discussion and serious medical research as we enter into the brave new world of the third millennium The Northern Territory Government believed Voluntary Euthanasia 10 be a viable option for its ailing citizens' To everything a season? Can we regard a hospital bed surrounded by invasive machinery a proper place? Is the moment the patient selects "yes" on a computer driven intravenous drip, an accept- able lime for' both the patient and society? We must consider the inevitable conseqtiences of such controls, and indeed, Federal Parliament decided the consequences to be too dire to allow the euthanasia technology to be introduced and implemented Bio-medical engineers have produced technologies to sus lain life, as well as terminate it. 11 is in this multi-million dollar field where research 11as been the most intensive because it is the most esteemed and rewarded by society. Screening technol- ogy, organ transplants, bionic implants, and kidney dialysis ale technologies which enable us to live that nTuch longer, even though these technologies mean long periods in hospitals with painful and debilitating treatment. Some even seek the 1111imate of extreme 111easures to ward off the Gritll Reaper throngh the science of cryogenics, demanding their' nodies to be snap- frozen Lintil a cure is found. Unfortunately, in doctors' crusades toward ti'Garment and CLIre, LITey forget that ino1'e impol'tant than extension of life, is its qLiality Man is innclT preoccLipiecl by the passing of time, PIObably because it reminds 11/11T of Ills own ITTortality. We 11Ttist accept tlie fact that ITO I}latter now advanced our technology becomes, we innst always live willI tlie Linpredictable and Lincoiitrollable For our own sanity, we IT\List accept the limits to our technolo- gies, and that dearl\ comes to all, in one way or another, at an indeterminate time and place. Attempts to 11asten or prolong our inevitable fate ale in soilTe circLimstances Linjustifiable, thus we inList define 11\e point to WITich doctors can in telvene, and leave a little of the guess work to God Inevitably, by the time this essay ITas been read, the readei will be sevei a1 1111nutes closer to eternity by ETlZARETH VELKOWC