Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Euthanasia

Recently, one of our two fish died shortly after I had very lovingly cleaned their tank. The cause remains a mystery. In reality, the other one had died, too, but somehow was brought back to life miraculously. I've been watching him closely: he scarcely moves and consumes no food. The gorgeous metallic cerulean and blood red are fast fading, making the scales ever so visible. Tiny pectoral fins make several failed attempts at transient movements. He surfaces to water faintly parting his mouth and stagnates there till I tap the edge of the fish bowl. I've found him laying horizontally on the floor of the bowl playing dead. At those intensely sad moments, I've thought it's time to bury him. But then he revives! Still...barely...living...

It's been close to two days and my poor fish still remains agonized. It's tormenting for me to watch him in the current state. At the same time, I don't have the heart to put an unnatural end to his life.

That brings me to the question in focus: should euthanasia - better known as assisted suicide - be legal? It has merits and demerits that one can weigh.

If a person or an animal has been suffering for a considerable amount of time, and medicine has not yet discovered a cure for the ailment, it might be logical to relieve the person or the animal of all the suffering. That's when religious and moral values come into play. Emotional attachments are a barrier. The major religions of the world label it as murder (without the consent of the informed adult) or suicide (with the consent of the informed adult), and hence frown upon it.

Each situation varies, and consequently the decision varies. For now, I need to decide what needs to be done with my fish. Suggestions?

36 comments:

Unknown said...

kill it. Its over for the poor fishy.

Feeza said...

I think I want to wait a while! Maybe till tonight...

Anonymous said...

If only the fish could vote:-)
I am sure you will make the right choice- be it religious, moral or.. just the right thing to do!

Feeza said...

I like the faith you have in my decision making. I'll tailor my post to your liking now!

Anonymous said...

Whatever you do, don't do what Aman says. That would be my advice;-)

On a more serious note- I hope fishy's suffering isn't prolonged. Here's something I found that might help: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070306111402AAxMBEH
(Aman, please note it's from a Yahoo website)

Anonymous said...

OK FEEZA. HERE COMES MY FORCED COMMENT.

Feeza said...

Parimal, that doesn't count as a comment! You have to do better next time.

Vinod said...

I hear Aamir needs practice with frying fish. Double your good karma, kill the fish, and let Aamir fry it.

On a more serious note - I've thought about euthanasia some on occasion, and I can only speak for personal preference - If I were ever in a state of abject misery, do me a favor and put me out of it.

Anonymous said...

Let the fish live unless you want to eat it.

For humans, if euthanasia is made kosher, you open a pandora's box. If a dejected teenager wants to end his life (because his girlfriend left him and he doesnt want to live etc), how can you say no to him and allow an ailing person if you've left it up to consent?

Feeza said...

Thought provoking, Sameer! I'll have to cogitate on that one.

Aman, can you please optimize my blog so more people can access it? I know you said Aamir can do it, but he'll direct all users in search of porn to my blog.

Aamir, you're not frying my fish! Come over for tea, though! Been a while!

Aa said...

Fish......Sushi.....MMMMM.

porte said...

spend a few bucks on a new fish and pretend nothing ever happened.

Naeem said...

hmm... let nature takes its course. Maybe the fish is in pain, maybe it isn't. Maybe it'll recover, maybe it won't. Why should you get to decide?

Unknown said...

I had sushi tonite - yummy it was. I am up for sushi again!!

Unknown said...

Naeem - i knew u were a sissy - now its confirmed!

Naeem said...

sissy because i'm afraid of the fate of a fish? excuse me, i didn't notice the killer whale in the little tank...

As for the fish, you can eat the diseased monster if you want.

Feeza said...

Sushi sounds really good! I'll wait till I'm over the trauma of my recent loss. My other fish seems to be feeling better. Getting a tad feisty. Wonder what's up with that!

Anonymous said...

Not sure how long after you cleaned the tank you put the betta back in it, but i'd suggest keeping the fish in some of the old water in another bowl when you clean the tank. Then fill the clean tank with fresh water and let the water stabilize for a day or two before putting the betta back in the tank.

Also, betta's change color when they feel threatened, so the lighter coloring on the surviving fish is probably a physiological reaction to the changed water. he'll be fine in a day or two.

Feeza said...

Thank you for the insight, Anonymous. Your suggestion might work. Here's what I think happened: the putatively clean water of Brookline has high ammonia content. I transferred the fish to another bowl filled with bottled water, and its health improved considerably.

I largely rely on bottled water as it is, and with my fish being the guinea pig, I'm sticking to bottled water.

Readers can remain anonymous. That's their prerogative. However, everyone is most welcome to share their thoughts openly under their own name, too. Everyone can be cyber-acquaintances!

Unknown said...

lol...ur fish died after ur cleaned their tanks!! its hilarious
ppl have allergy’s to fish... hehe... ur fish had allergy’s to u
ok ok i no its touchy topic... peace

Shahzeb said...

quite a discussion over fish :P

Feeza said...

Andy, my fish was allergic to water! Make me feel worse about it, why don't you?!

And yes, I am possessive about my fish. However, we can certainly indulge in a dialogue about whether euthanasia should, in fact, be legal!

Anonymous said...

did it die yet ?

Anonymous said...

Anand's comment was hilarious
Perhaps we are touching on greater topics than fish and mercy killing.

Feeza said...

Osman, he didn't die, and hopefully, he won't die.

He has regained colour, but his eyes are filled with melancholy. If only I could bring back his partner...

I'm beginning to believe that euthanasia shouldn't be legal, after all. You never know the course life will take.

Anonymous said...

I would like to offer my two cents, considering I am the subject of this posting.

I have been a bit said, I admit, by the departure of my partner. No, we were not lovers as Feeza and Yana would like to believe. We did, however, share a deep bond between us that was largely one of an intellectual nature. You can learn a great deal about the world from a fish bowl. Finding and I would discuss the very nature of time and space, perhaps aided in part by the curved view of the world from a fishbowl.

I digress.

Quite simply, I would like to continue living. So please, everyone, no more discussions about euthanasia and suicide. As Celine Dion said in that wonderful movie about water: my heart will go on.

Feeza said...

Dear Nemo,

I am a little disappointed with your taste in movies. I thought I had taught you better!

I knew you weren't gay! Time for Yana to accept that, too!

Always,

Feeza

p.s: yes, yes...you write exceptionally well!

Unknown said...

wow this fish seems like a Celeb now. Is it still alive? If yes then ummm probably Aamir is right hehehespend a few bucks and get another one :P

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear the fish is doing better...if i had joined in earlier I would have definitely said let it live.

On a side note...i absolutely love the name of the blog...good going :)

Feeza said...

Saniya, glad you joined now! Never too late. I'm thoroughly enjoying blogging, and I think it's a great way to keep in touch with everyone simultaneously. Good luck with your move to the best city in the whole wide world. Can't wait to party with you!

The name of the blog was suggested by Farooq. I'll let him thank you for appreciating his brilliance.

Nasir, if you're so generous, why don't YOU get me a fish?

Farooq said...

Thank you, Saniya!

Unknown said...

yellow...i agree with nemo, learn from this episode...get a new friend for your fish. If theres a vote ill say im against euthanasia

Feeza said...

Yep, I'm thinking of getting a friend for Nemo.

Nemo hasn't been eating. He runs to grab his food, takes it in, and spits it right out. Hopefully, he should be perfectly fine soon.

Shahzeb said...

hows the fish doing?

Anonymous said...

You write very well.

Feeza said...

Thank you, Tana :)