Unconscious, Michael lingered for hours. His waiting children had no one to call for advice, but Michael had left instructions for this eventuality. Sobbing, his son Bill lovingly carried out his father’s wishes.
Recognizing the importance of psychosocial factors to those considering a hastened death led FEN to more explicitly recognize the importance of psychosocial factors when evaluating an applicant’s medical records. By making psychosocial factors more explicit in our criteria, we honor what truly matters to those who reach out to us.
“It’s no secret that wage gaps, discrimination and institutional racism limit Black Americans’ access to health equity. However, what’s discussed a lot less frequently is that these factors impact the way this group experiences death, too.”
After he died, Jean and her sister both looked at one other and said, “That’s how I’m going to die.”
“Last words—it doesn’t happen like the movies. That’s not how patients die.” — Bob Parker
Changes to Bill C-7 (Canada) have released people with dementia from a cruel trap by letting them make provisions in advance to end their lives.
“We have a long way to go to educate the public about choices in dying, about defining ‘life’, and about making the end less agonizing for patients and their families.”
A friend’s .357 “solution” reinforced his decision to learn from right-to-die groups.
Managing dying and death is difficult enough. But if you do nothing, you’ll be a pawn in a profit-driven medical system.