ABSTRACT
Dying people are all too easily reduced ahead of time to “thinghood” by those who cannot bear to deal with the suffering or disability of those they love. Objectification and detachment are understandable defenses. Even on one’s deathbed it is important and meaningful to know that one is having an impact on another’s life. Almost everyone who goes into a hospital or a nursing home is required to sign a “living will” indicating what level of care they would like to receive and at what point care should be stopped. What greater fear could the dying have but that their heirs, either not wanting to bear the burdens of care any longer or anxious to acquire their estate, will allow them to die “before their time”. The thought races through the mind of the dying that his/her guardians, under pressure to preserve estates, might not take the aggressive actions required to continue life.
