Responding to suffering: providing options and respecting choice.
case_report · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19896573.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.09.001.
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Abstract
Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED) as a legal means to hasten death has been discussed by some as an option for persons who wish to end their lives. A case is presented of a woman who elected to forgo eating and drinking to end intractable suffering. The potential for benefit and harm in physicians discussing VSED is discussed. Physicians working with terminally ill patients need to consider the discussion of VSED as a therapeutic tool in their support and care of patients with intractable suffering.
Medical subject headings
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Stress, Psychological
- Suicide, Assisted