Are we now living in an egocentric society where one would rather embrace death than look unattractive, or grow old? Vanity is subjective from person to person and how one associates with the word is diverse. For a 50-year-old socialite, she preferred to refuse a life-saving kidney treatment as she feared of growing old.
It is also said that she was allowed to die, even though she had been diagnosed with a narcissist personality disorder.
The 50-year-old, whose family has extended her right to anonymity, had swallowed painkillers along with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. She then told her daughters that she had “royally cocked it up”.
A psychiatric assessment established that she had “disturbance in the functioning mind”.
Hearing about her fear of growing old, in what can be termed as a landmark case, a judge ruled that she could die. She had suffered damage to the liver due to her previous suicide attempt, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.
One of her daughters revealed in court that her mother was angry when she revealed she was pregnant to her. Her mother was angry because “she would be a grandmother and that made her feel ‘past her sell-by date’”.
This seems to be quite an alarming case and even more so worrying to think what if there are more people who go to court for similar reasons. Does life hold a very small value or significance in comparison to vanity and your social stature?
Spokesman, Alistair Thompson for the Care Not Killing Alliance, who promotes care and opposes euthanasia, said, “This is an absolutely chilling message that the court has sent out: that someone who felt they had lost their sparkle because they are over 50 should be allowed to die.”
Change is a part of live; humans are constantly changing and evolving, either for the better or for the worst. Ageing is an integral process of life and to be mortified by the idea of growing old and becoming ugly, is most probably the revelation of the lack of appreciation someone may have of the gift of live which they were bestowed with.
This ruling may be the start of a revolutionary law, or it could remain as a one-off scenario. Either way, it does make one wonder about the value of their life, and whether vanity precedents health.
