The Good Death Society Blog

Jan 22

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How do we improve DWD laws? – Part 1

By Lamar Hankins | Death With Dignity Act | 3 Comments

Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act (DWDA), implemented in 1998, was a monumental step forward in pursuing the primary goal of permitting those suffering from illness or disease to hasten their own death. But its advocates realized that, out of political necessity, it was not a universally applicable law, covering everyone in need. And the DWDA did not assure that all people have excellent medical care to meet their needs, though Oregon did dramatically improve palliative care in the state, diminishing the need for many people to make use of the DWDA.

Jan 14

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A theological view of death and suffering

By John Abraham, D.Div., Thanatologist | Suffering and Death | No Comments

Most objectors to the right to die stand on religious grounds, claiming that God gave life and only God can take life away. Also, any deliberate ending of life is breaking the sixth commandment and therefore a mortal sin. Life is sacred and must be preserved at all costs, only God can decide when and how our lives will end, and Christians are supposed to suffer because it allows them to empathize with Jesus’ suffering.

This interpretation of the sixth commandment is, in fact, wrong.

Jan 08

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Whose decision is it?

By Lamar Hankins | Choice | 4 Comments

Whenever I read the arguments of opponents of Medical Aid In Dying (MAID), one that constantly crops up is a religious appeal to how precious life is. For example, “Every day is a gift from God, and you can’t ever let that go.” That is a faith statement. I may agree with it or I may not. It may rise out of the writer’s religious faith, but that doesn’t mean it applies to mine. And religious faith should never be a basis for making public policy. Otherwise, we will have one person’s religion controlling all others – something our founders absolutely opposed.

Dec 30

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Dying in the Americas Conference

By Announcement | Final Exit Network | One Comment

Final Exit Network announces Dying in the Americas 2018, a conference devoted to re-imagining the future of dying with the objective of a peaceful death for everyone. The conference will take place March 21 to March 25, 2018, in the peaceful setting of the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa in Henderson, Nevada, in the foothills outside Las Vegas. The program is open to academics, health care professionals, physicians, nurses, geriatric social workers, Thanatologists, hospice and nursing facility personnel, palliative care specialists, insurance and government professionals, and those interested in improving the quality of the dying experience for both the patient and family.

Dec 17

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there’s still no cure for dying

By Linda Wilshusen | Dying | 2 Comments

To close out this year, FEN member Linda Wilshusen has allowed us to post some thoughts she first wrote three years ago for her own blog – the everyday primate – but are as timely now as when written. The Good Death Society Blog will take off for three weeks and return with new posts on January 8, 2018.

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Originally posted at “the everyday primate”

You’re probably rolling your eyes at this apparent not-joy-t0-the-world holiday season post. But hang in here with me – this topic could fuel unusual & maybe even helpful family dinner conversations. Still skeptical? Well, just remind yourself that there’s nothing more important to religious holidays than life & death.

Dec 10

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End-of-Life Care: The issues we face

By Lamar Hankins | End-of-life care | 2 Comments

The American Psychological Association (APA) has prepared and published an “End-of-Life Care Fact Sheet,” making it available as an open source document. It tries to answer the question – What are older adults’ mental health needs near the end of life?

The document, prepared by Sharon Valente, RN, PhD, FAAN, in collaboration with the other members of the APA Ad Hoc Committee on End-of-Life Issues, addresses many issues of concern to FEN members and provides references for the information and opinions it offers.

While the APA does not take a position on assisted dying, such as the laws that allow a physician to provide a lethal prescription to a terminally ill patient, as can be done in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia (and is permitted in Montana by court decision), it does recognize the many perspectives on the issue of hastened death or rational suicide that exist in the US population.

Dec 03

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Analyzing two advance directives for dementia and VSED from EOLW

By Lamar Hankins | Dementia | One Comment

As I have stated previously in these posts, I do not intend to allow myself to live far into the condition we term dementia, should that fate befall me. However, we never know what might happen to thwart our intentions, which is why I have chosen to use advance directives as creatively as possible to prevent being forced to live a life that I find intolerable and inhumane. This is why I welcome any efforts to create the circumstances that allow everyone to have the lives and deaths they want.

Nov 27

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Finding the final arrangements you want and can afford

By Josh Slocum | Funeral Planning | One Comment

When contemplating what you want when it comes to the disposition of your body, it helps to go in with the understanding that very few services are required by law. Whether you choose a simple cremation with no ceremony, body burial preceded by a conventional funeral, or donating your body to anatomical study, the legal requirements that must be fulfilled at death are so minimal most people are surprised. And this holds true in every state in the country. If you’re willing to clear your mind of what you think you have to do for a funeral, your planning will go more smoothly and more quickly.

Nov 20

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A break for Thanksgiving

By Lamar Hankins | Gratitude | 3 Comments

While not everyone who reads this message, because of their own circumstances, will feel like being thankful this week, I thought I would take a break from our usual discussions to share a few thoughts that my own family has embraced for several years on Thanksgiving. It is an incomplete and changing list of some of the things we have to be thankful for, with a measure of reality thrown in to keep us from feeling too smug about being Americans, or living in America. The thoughts are intentionally not sectarian or religious. I hope they have a universal human quality about them.

Nov 13

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Finding and being a good (or great) health care advocate

By John Abraham, D.Div., Thanatologist | Advance Directives, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, Surrogate | 5 Comments

One problem with advance directives is that often they are not honored. It is critical that you have a good advocate who demands that you get only the care you want and do not get what is not wanted, not only at end of life but at any time you encounter a medical institution. You will need to choose someone who meets the legal requirements to act as a health care or medical agent, which some states call a proxy, surrogate, or representative. I call this person your “advocate.” State requirements differ greatly, so be sure to use your state’s forms for naming a health care or medical agent, not generic documents like the “5 wishes.”