“Live and Let Go–An American Death”
Jay Niver, newsletter editor for Final Exit Network, shares the film made about his dad's hastened death to end his suffering from terminal prostate cancer. (Continue reading ...)
The slippery slope, voluntary decision-making, and equal protection
Slippery slope arguments deny rationality, moral precepts, and legal principles. Few of us who believe in a right to die go beyond the formulation of this right as a voluntary decision of one person about that person's life. The view that no one has the right to take from us the liberty to make such decisions to end our lives except ourselves appears to be the norm in this society for those who are near the end of their lives because of disease or condition. Voluntariness is inextricably bound up with the decision to die to escape suffering near the end of life. (Continue reading ...)
“Self-death” (suicide) as a natural right
A brief look at suicide historically, philosophically, constitutionally, legally, and practically as a right to all who value liberty. (Continue reading ...)
Confessions of a FEN Coordinator
A FEN Coordinator discusses how FEN works and explains who FEN can and cannot help. (Continue reading ...)
A hard look at the landscape of death and dying
A member of the Final Exit Network, who wishes to remain anonymous, explains what pancreatic cancer has been like for him. (Continue reading ...)
Death and the Atheist
Seth Andrews–The Thinking Atheist–discusses death and end-of-life issues from his perspective. (Continue reading ...)
Pain management at the end of life
End-of-life pain can be complex and not all such pain is easily or satisfactorily controlled. FEN member Craig Phillips shares his experiences with pain control while working as a volunteer in a hospice. (Continue reading ...)
If Jane had a social worker . . .
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions to deal with Jane's presumptive problems (see previous post). If Jane had an independent social worker–one not in her healthcare system–that person might respond to Jane's difficulties with something like the following: (Continue reading ...)
Hastening death is not always an easy path: What should Jane do?
Many people with debilitating and irreversible health conditions do not have supportive family and friends. They include include people with metastatic cancer, irreversible neurological conditions, and multiple medical problems that have taken away any enjoyment and quality of life as determined by them. They no longer want to continue living because they know that their condition will only worsen, and for them it is already beyond bad. There is no realistic hope that their lives will improve. Most of the time, family members and friends are able to see the suffering in their loved one's life and understand a desire to end the suffering. But this is not always the case, as illustrated in this post. (Continue reading ...)
The reality of existential suffering
If we use "existential suffering" as a stand-in for all of the related terms we use, it will help us discuss what we may mean by them. Certainly, distress, dread, angst, anxiety, anguish, or crisis all suggest suffering at least in a mental or psychological sense, a kind of suffering that all people encounter at one point or another in their lives, or even daily. Some existential suffering can be mitigated through changes in circumstances or with the help of others, but when one is dying, whether slowly or rapidly, one may wish to forego the suffering whether or not there may be temporary relief for it. (Continue reading ...)