Nyuta Federmesser: "In Russia, people have no right to manage their bodies and lives"

“It depends on where you look at it (death). You can look at it as a doctor, as a relative of a dying person, as a dying patient himself who is facing it. Or you can, as an outside observer. And this is very different for everyone.

Nobody is afraid of death, they are afraid of dying. It’s just not being discussed.

But man is not afraid of death itself, he does not know it. And the thing that precedes it scares.

Well, then death, it's just when a butterfly flew out into another window (through the bright room), if you continue Nabokov. What's more?

I’ll tell you this: in Russia there is no such entity as living will - a lifetime will.

This is when a person leaves an order regarding his life, but only these orders do not concern property - an apartment, a car, money on a book and accumulated beer cans - but what should be done "if I cannot make decisions myself".

I haven't filled out living will completely.

But we do not have the right, according to the law, to make decisions regarding our children and their upbringing, we have no such right.

We have no right to do not resuscitate - refusal of resuscitation actions, in advance. We substitute a doctor if we make such a decision.

We have no right to manage our own body, that is, the opportunity to say in advance that I do not want such and such treatment, but want such and such treatment; let's stop here, don't do this with me.

I remember very well that when I was giving birth to my oldest child, and after many, many exhausting hours, I had to sign a consent form for a caesarean section. I had constant every minute contractions, it was impossible to sign anything, but I could put some squiggle with a pen, but it is absolutely certain that I would put this squiggle on any paper, without reading its content, just here... "Put it here"... And I was conscious.

And the situation in which a person got into an accident is serious, he is in a coma, and that's it. Everything, you can no longer make decisions, and everything that you wrote about yourself in advance, it all does not concern anyone, that is, in Russia we cannot dispose of ourselves, our life, the quality of life of our children.

This is legally impossible.

We can bequeath an apartment. We can only bequeath property. If you write such a piece of paper here, it will legally have no effect.

The doctor will still decide for you, the director of the neuropsychiatric boarding school will decide for you if you get there, and so on.

And the head doctor of the clinic will also decide for you. And some unknown to you, strangers will decide for your four children".