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morbidbutwhoisnt t1_jayptid wrote

Reply to comment by explodingkitchen in Genevieve Lhermitte: Belgian mother who killed her five children euthanised by Quirkie

It is, it just isn't expressly mentioned. It's like a do not resuscitate.

You can't sign a do not resuscitate and then in the heat of the moment yell "save me!" And them decide to save you against the orders of the DNR. Because when you recover (if you do) or if you are left incapacitated but "alive" you or your family can sue.

What you are reading is saying that you don't have to go into it 100%. You can tell them you want to cease food and water, but if you ask to start back then they can't deny it. That's abuse. If you tell them that you want to cease food and water and you do not want it to be restarted then they cannot start it back.

The idea behind this process is that those who request it are already so far gone that their bodies won't really want it enough for it to be painful, but not everyone is in that position.

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explodingkitchen t1_jaywf2w wrote

That's a crap analogy since someone who needs resuscitation isn't capable of saying "save me!". It's not possible for there to be any conflict between previously stated intention and present demand.

While there may be individuals who would want a "don't give me food/water, even if I beg for it" clause, you don't have to agree to such a thing to do VSED. And regardless of what you've signed, palliative care should be there to deal with any pain/anxiety/whatever the patient is experiencing during the dying process.

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morbidbutwhoisnt t1_jayxas1 wrote

  1. people can be conscious during an active heart attack and if they have a DNR you can't take life saving measures

  2. someone can state they "don't want to die" before becoming unconscious in a situation where they are unconscious

Those are some examples of times when someone may be conscious but have a DNR.

Not every state allows for the same level of palliative care.

I also did not say that you had to agree to such things to do a vsed, I however did say that in places without euthanasia that this is the only option. And no matter what you have to admit it's much more cruel not only to the patient but to the care giver

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