“Completed Life” — A response to Derek Humphry
As a counter-point to Derek Humphry's recent post, the director of FEN's Exit Guide program voices support for self-deliverance based on a "completed life." (Continue reading ...)
Death Cafe Oakland
Bill Palmer shares some reflections and insights as founder of Death Cafe Oakland in California. (Continue reading ...)
The Hidden Gifts of Fear and Anger
Has anyone told you to not be afraid or angry when making end-of-life decisions? They were wrong. (Continue reading ...)
Reflecting on Death and Dying in the Time of COVID
Does COVID-19 have a silver lining for advocates of death with dignity? Barak Wolff of New Mexico End-of-Life Options Coalition thinks so. (Continue reading ...)
Hand feeding of dementia patients is medical care
Most dementia directives call for voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) at a prescribed point late in the progression of dementia. In most cases, this requires eliminating hand feeding based on the proposition that hand feeding is a medical treatment or medical care. (Continue reading ...)
Discontinuing all life-sustaining care
A 30-year old Florida Supreme Court decision may provide support for the use of a dementia directive that provides for voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). (Continue reading ...)
Comparing dementia advance directives–Part 3
This post, Part 3 of a series on dementias directives, discusses the supplemental advance directive for dementia offered by Final Exit Network (FEN) for those people who do NOT want to live into the later stages of dementia. The FEN dementia directive was drafted by FEN's legal counsel, Robert Rivas. (Continue reading ...)
Comparing dementia advance directives–Part 2
Part 1 of this multi-part analysis identifies eight Dementia Directives by authorship and discusses overall characteristics of each. This second part analyses the approaches to drafting such directives to help readers think about the elements of each. (Continue reading ...)
Comparing dementia advance directives–Part 1
This post begins a multi-part series about dementia directives, analyzing their provisions and their purposes. (Continue reading ...)
The healthcare surrogate’s role in the time of Covid-19
Healthcare surrogates are always important, but their role has become more difficult during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read about what can be done in this situation. (Continue reading ...)