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

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

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. (Continue reading ...)
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Medical Aid in Dying: When Legal Safeguards Become Burdensome Obstacles

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. (Continue reading ...)
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How do we improve DWD laws? – Part 1

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. (Continue reading ...)
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A theological view of death and suffering

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. (Continue reading ...)
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