Novel approach to medical tourism

A novel looks into the future to discuss the controversies of euthanasia tourism.

It is 2021 and the small African nation of Mkanda, anxious to lift itself from poverty, legalises doctor-assisted suicide to encourage a new type of travel — euthanasia tourism. With the USA slashing Medicare coverage and instituting new rules, Mkanda appeals to those desperate to end their struggles in a timely way. In Illinois, Hank Grimmager, suffering from ALS and the early stages of Alzheimer’s, pleads with his devoutly Catholic daughter, Olivia Harper, to take him to Mkanda. Olivia doesn’t want to bypass all her beliefs and be a party to her father’s death, but finds it impossible to ignore his needs. Moving between Central Illinois and Africa, the novel erupts into inevitable conflict when religion and money are involved in matters of love and health.

In “The Last Resort,” author Maureen Holtz demonstrates the power of fiction to illuminate a topic of troubling controversy. By examining euthanasia in a story she can cover an awkward business with insight. The 352-page book is available in paperback and Kindle editions.

American author Maureen Holtz lives in Central Illinois and explains that it is based on personal experiences, “I’ve lived through the death of my mother and father, my mother-in-law, my aunt and a friend’s mother.“

That a small country could take the next step from stem cell tourism to euthanasia tourism may seem unlikely, until you consider that Switzerland has been offering this for many years.