The Good Death Society Blog

Apr 15

3

When Something Has Happened We’d All Prefer Not: My Advance Directives In case of a Sudden Life Threatening Event

By Timothy Boon, RN | Advance Directives | 2 Comments

Timothy Boon, RN, is the CEO of Good Shepherd Community Care (GSCC) in Newton, MA. GSCC is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit, non-sectarian, hospice care agency, the first organized in Massachusetts 40 years ago. Recently, he wrote a poem in the style of Dr. Seuss, and recited it on video for ZDoggMD (otherwise known as Dr. Zubin Damania, Founder of Turntable Health, a direct primary care clinic in downtown Las Vegas). The poem is posted here by permission of the author. The video is posted courtesy of ZDoggMD.

Apr 08

2

Dying together

By Lamar Hankins | Medical Aid in Dying | No Comments

It is not unusual for married couples to die within a few days, weeks, or months of one another. It has become more common in recent years for couples, especially those who have been together for many years and are in poor health, to plan their deaths together by taking barbiturates or some other drug that is deadly when taken in sufficient quantity. Recently, through Canada’s assisted-dying law, a Canadian couple, married for almost 73 years, arranged their joint deaths in the same bed, while holding hands.

Apr 01

0

Helping Kids Think About Death Without an Afterlife

By Dale McGowan | Dying | No Comments

Talking to children about death is a topic not yet dealt with on this blog. This first discussion by author and blogger Dale McGowan approaches the topic from a freethinking, rather than from a religious perspective. Even for the religious among us, McGowan offers some insights that may be helpful. And even adults may derive benefit from his perspective.

Mar 18

0

Thinking about being a burden on others

By Lamar Hankins | Death With Dignity Act, Disability | 5 Comments

When a family member provides care in the home for someone with a disability, when does this responsibility become a burden on the caregiver? Is being a burden asking too much of a family member? These and related questions are discussed in this week’s post.

Mar 11

1

American Academy of Neurology Drops Opposition to Medical Aid in Dying

By Thaddeus M. Pope, JD, PhD | Medical Aid in Dying | No Comments

Thaddeus Pope writes about the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) dropping its longtime opposition to legislation giving terminally ill patients the option of medical aid in dying (MAID). In addition, he identifies numerous local, state, regional, and national medical-related groups that have now taken a neutral position on MAID or endorsed its use.

Mar 05

3

A closer look at VSED

By Lamar Hankins | VSED | One Comment

In my last post, I discussed some general propositions about Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED). In this post, I look at some VSED issues in greater detail.

Feb 25

0

VSED and the “rage against the dying of the light”

By Lamar Hankins | VSED | 4 Comments

I learned that VSED doesn’t have to be a horrible way to hasten one’s death. With proper care, it can be done without pain or distress. The first two or three days are sometimes the most difficult because of hunger pangs and thirst. The hunger is easy to control if one has access to pain medication. The thirst can be ameliorated with proper oral care, such as judicious use of ice chips, rinses, and lubricating gels.

Feb 18

0

What do we know about implementation of Physician Assistance in Dying (PAD)

By Lamar Hankins | PAD | 4 Comments

This National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine sponsored a workshop last week that was intended to explore the evidence base and research gaps relating to the implementation of the clinical practice of allowing terminally ill patients to access life-ending medications with the aid of a physician. The workshop examined what is known, and unknown, about how physician-assisted death is practiced and accessed in the United States; it was not to be a focus of the workshop to discuss at length the moral or ethical arguments for or against the practice of physician-assisted death. It was billed as a neutral space to facilitate dialogue in order to help inform ongoing discussions between patients, their providers, and other health care stakeholders. What follows is a report on that workshop.

Feb 11

0

Medical Aid in Dying: When Legal Safeguards Become Burdensome Obstacles

By Thaddeus M. Pope, JD, PhD | Death With Dignity Act, Medical Aid in Dying | No Comments

In 2017, the District of Columbia (DC) became the seventh jurisdiction in the United States to legalize medical aid in dying, which gives terminally ill patients the option of how and when they die. The new DC statute is nearly identical to earlier enacted medical aid in dying statutes in California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington State. Only Montana legalized medical aid in dying through a court decision, but subsequently, proponents of the act have failed in every attempt to legalize medical aid in dying through constitutional or statutory litigation.

Feb 05

0

How do we improve DWD laws? – Part 2

By Lamar Hankins | Death With Dignity Act | One Comment

[NOTE: Because of a problem with a component of the website, I am re-publishing this post today. A new post will appear in the in-boxes of subscribers Monday. I had hoped we would get some comments or feedback about this post.]

In Part 1, I discussed the state of death with dignity (DWD) laws in the United States and suggested eliminating the “six months to live” criterion. Here in Part 2, I discuss the Canadian example, other suggestions that may ease some restrictions of death with dignity acts (DWDAs), and add an important precaution that should help protect vulnerable people and provide better medical services.