"Don’t call it ‘assisted suicide’"

 A letter to the editors of The Washington Post from Donna Smith of Compassion & Choices objected to the term "assisted suicide."

Using the term “assisted suicide” to describe medical aid in dying is inaccurate and offensive to terminally ill individuals, who want to live but their disease is killing them. They just want the option to end their suffering peacefully if it becomes intolerable.

In fact, data from authorized jurisdictions shows one-third of terminally ill individuals who receive aid-in-dying medication don’t end up taking it, but they get peace of mind from knowing they can take it if they need it.

A New Machine for a Gentle Assisted Death

The Washington Post reports on a new machine for those who wish to have an assisted death.

People wishing to end their lives in Switzerland — one of a handful of countries that give the option — could soon have access to a new method: a 3-D-printed pod that its creator says can painlessly end someone’s life in a matter of minutes....

At the push of a button, the pod becomes filled with nitrogen gas, which rapidly lowers oxygen levels, causing its user to fall unconscious within a minute, Nitschke said. A person does not suffocate or experience distress, he said, but rather dies of oxygen deprivation after they’ve fallen asleep. In theory, the capsule can be towed to a place of someone’s choosing, said Nitschke, who described the machine as a “stylish and elegant” way to die.

Being Present for the Dying

 Ken Budd's essay On The Obligation to Prevent People from Dying Alone is a beautiful meditation of what those moments together mean to the person who is dying and the person who is there, to talk or not, to read scripture or not, just to be present. Budd, still distressed that his mother died alone, has volunteered with NODA. 

I sit quietly. The dying can feel our presence, I’ve been told. That’s the mission here. To be a compassionate human being. To provide family members — in this case the woman’s devoted daughter — with a break from their vigil. To make certain someone is here if she needs something. To ensure that she won’t feel alone and, most important, that she won’t die alone.