Recently I started to think that what we should understand by “fate” is an interaction between time and advancements in medical technology. Wide majority of people would agree that we are driven to chase a life that is free of hassle. We can regard disorders, whether psychological or physical, as the greatest challenge to our well-being, and perhaps this is the reason why the funding which goes into biomedical research has skyrocketed in the last few decades.

I sometimes think Medicine has this crazy idea to chase eternal life, such that it has assigned itself this delusional query as its primary duty, which is saving human life no matter what the cost may be (eg. the glorification of human life). This also goes beyond “consent” which cannot be taken from people who have fallen unconscious; for example, as a result of an accident. In such situations, the consent is assumed to be there all the time; such that if the unconscious person was fully conscious, he or she would confirm that the doctors should do whatever it takes to keep him alive. I sincerely think that this is a false assumption; as there are many worse things in life than death itself.

Imagine a wounded soldier in WWI with one of his legs taken away by a landmine. Due to highly limited availability of resources at that time, the likelihood of saving such a soldier would be quite slim. This is not a big problem if the soldier himself also thinks that living that way for the rest of his life (including the possible confrontation that his sacrifice was for nothing) is worse than death. Now let’s fast forward the time; let’s say we are now in 1995, another battlefield in a remote part of the world. If the soldier can be taken to a hospital in a timely fashion, the chances are quite high that his life would be saved.

Let’s give it another 100 years and I have a feeling that by 2100 even losing a limb will not be of any major problem anymore as the advancements in medical technology will be able to provide opportunities for a full reconstruction of the lost limb. So, looking at the bigger picture, now we see that the people who live in the “age of transition” are guinea pigs for future generations and they will be the ones who will be physically and psychologically crushed by weight of struggles they will have to bear throughout their lives just because a bunch of doctors decided to save their lives without their conscious consent.

I think Medicine should avoid “saving lives” if governments cannot provide a lifelong intensive psychological support and positive discrimination to anyone who have suffered through a major accident. I think it’s not even necessary to mention how judgemental and discriminating people may be against those who live with various forms of disabilities (including mental health) to understand the magnitude of this problem.