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bivymack t1_j4v9f72 wrote

Reply to comment by blatantninja in Family Dynamics and Doctors' Emotions Drive Useless End-of-Life Care. Surveys repeatedly indicate that nearly all people would rather die peacefully at home, yet painful, long-shot treatments remain common, and efforts to reduce usage have failed by Wagamaga

Totally agreed with the 3rd paragraph. Though I think “suicide” should be taken out of the terminology. I’m a hospice RN Case Manager in the southern US and a lot of people in these parts will call it “physician assisted suicide” with quite a negative connotation because suicide is sinful/blasphemy/whatever nonsense. Physician Assisted Death, or Death with Dignity might take away some of the stigma surrounding the practice.

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Brilliant_Draft7346 t1_j4vnkgi wrote

In Canada we call it MAID- medical assistance in dying. There still is some stigma, but this phrasing has seemed to make it a bit more palatable

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Propyl_People_Ether t1_j54h1w5 wrote

According to some news reports, too palatable - there are patient accounts of being pressured to sign MAID papers due to housing troubles or inability to work, for example, which is abominably unethical.

I like the way Oregon handles things: eligible patients are screened and offered a lethal prescription which they can choose to fill and use on their own terms or not. About half die naturally without using the prescription, & they and their families often say that the knowledge of chemical assistance being available/at hand creates peace of mind.

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PracticalShoulder916 t1_j4wolf8 wrote

The UK is so behind on this, the proposal gets shot down every time it's brought up. It's appalling that terminally ill people cannot decide themselves when they want to die.

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Yerwun t1_j4ymbp5 wrote

The 'dignity' term is controversial also for a few reasons. Medically assisted dying is the most neutral term.

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szpaceSZ t1_j4zicpg wrote

But physician assisted death sounds much more horrible than physician assisted suicide: it implies that the death was brought about by the physician as the primary actor, ie. it associates it with murder.

"Death with dignity" is a good teen, but it does not refer to the assistance

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