Words matter

By | Death With Dignity Act, Medical Aid in Dying, PAD, Suicide | One Comment

Words matter. Medical aid in dying (MAID or MAiD) is the term now widely accepted in law and medicine to describe the practice of a physician prescribing medication to a terminally ill, mentally competent, adult patient who may choose to ingest it to end suffering they find unbearable, and achieve a peaceful death. It is accurate language which should be used. Other terminology such as physician aid in dying may also be used, but increasingly there is a preference for the term medical aid in dying.

Read More

“Framing” the right-to-die for the United States

By | The Right to Die | 7 Comments

Recently, Derek Humphry wrote about the words we use to discuss end-of-life concerns in the US, focusing on the appropriateness of the term “suicide.”  He did so, in part, to stimulate a discussion about the words we use.  Like Humphry, I have no personal problem with the use of the term suicide–it accurately describes death by our own hand–but I resist it for several reasons.

Read More
Page 30 of 38
1 28 29 30 31 32 38