Jack Kevorkian‘œThis is what I’ve planned all along,’ ‘“ Jack Kevorkian

When I interviewed Susie Bright, the well-known author and sexpert for our Ten Money Questions series, she opened up about retirement and indicated that health care (even at her playful age) is a crippling expense.

She writes, ‘œI don’t want to live long unless my health is remarkable. I’m planning a respectful death before I become disabled. It’s not a morbid thought for me, it’s liberating.’

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross once said, ‘œDying is nothing to fear. It can be the most wonderful experience of your life. It all depends on how you have lived.’

Yet I find a lot of people are uncomfortable with death. It never really bothered me. I don’t think about it or worry about it. It is what it is. My partner, Jeanine doesn’t like to talk about it. When I’ve tried, she laughs in a nervous way and says, ‘œOkay, we can stop talking about this now.’ I think it gives her the creeps.

We have however talked about it in relation to our finances. We have life insurance and a trust and have made the necessary arrangements so that if one passes, money will not be a stressor for the other.

What we haven’t ever talked about is the scenario that Ms. Bright hints to above. If you knew death was inevitable and it was just going to cause you to blow through your savings or leave behind a family with enormous debt, would you ‘œrespectfully’ bow out of the game of life?

The newsmagazine, Nightline covered physician-assisted suicide recently in their story: Dying With Dignity, or Just a ‘˜Bad Law’? Here we read about Sue Williams, head of the local Right to Life Group, who campaigned against the death-with-dignity law when it was signed into law ten years ago.

She believes suicide is a desperate act. ‘œI don’t think you can have a dignified death when you chose to kill yourself,’ Williams said. ‘œIf there is a law that says ‘˜Yes, you can kill yourself,’ that is a bad law.’

Or is it? What happens if money becomes part of the consideration? Does the practicality of finances make you think differently about such a choice? It does for me. I’d certainly consider it. Of course, there are a lot of ifs and buts with this question.

So let’s hear what you have to say in this week’s What Would You Do? question Would you plan a respectful death? Or is it wrong and ridiculous to even consider it?