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 Introduction
Many people are so afraid of dying in pain, of becoming helpless and
dependent on others, that they want to kill themselves rather than
wait for disease to take its course. People are afraid of dying alone
or being attached to life support in a hospital. Some fear running
up huge medical bills that will bankrupt their families. And many
fear the loss of dignity that comes with being very ill and dying.
When the picture is so bleak, no wonder we want to change it quickly.
No wonder people want to take control over the end of life. As a
society, we praise independence and freedom; if we have been in
control for most of our lives, losing control at the end seems almost
unbearable.
But are suicide and euthanasia truly options? Do they provide a
way out of pain and suffering?
Your answers to these questions depend on how you feel about the
controversial issue of physician-assisted suicide or physician administration
of a lethal injection. In the abstract, these are good subjects
for debate. But when you are dying, or watching someone you love
die, the issue hits home, leaving you feeling overwhelmed, helpless,
and afraid. Thinking about hastening death, before it becomes an
urgent question in your own life, can help you to understand your
cur-rent options and to discuss your fears with your family or health
care team.
People sometimes think that if they are being cared for by hospice,
they will be able to ask for a lethal injection or an overdose of
pills. However, hospice does not offer such assistance. Instead,
hospice is an alternative to the technologically driven death in
a hospital that so many dread.
Many people are afraid that they must be willing to hasten their
death if they want to have good symptom relief. Good symptom management,
however, very rarely shortens life, and even then only by a few
hours.
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