The wounds remain

Claudio Magris writes in the liberal conservative daily Corriere della Sera on the death of coma patient Eluana Englaro: "The problem of the last will remains unsolved, the so-called biological testament, the advance directive. In Eluana Englaro's case her family decided on the basis of common sense. ... Although precarious, this remains the sole course open in such a case. Straying from it means slipping into ideological abstractions or an all-embracing concept of assisted suicide that purports to stipulate how we should live and whether or not we may die. What remains are the wounds left by the death of the loved one, and the wounds left on the entire country and our quality of life by the ignoble attacks on the fundamental principles of the state in Eluana's name. Not only individuals but also an entire country can be forced to write a testament."

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