What is the current state of the law in the US on right to die, assisted suicide, etc. I am not talking about euthanasia of unconscious patient (Schiavo-style). I am talking about grandpa getting diagnosed with cancer and deciding (in full use of his mind) that there is no point in fighting and choosing to go with dignity at home.
Are laws on this national or state laws?
What’s the SD on those morphine clickers that patients use to self-administer pain killers and can click themselves to death?
Are there any big laws coming down the pipeline?
If it is really impossible to kill oneself legally in the US, are there any death tourist destinations where Americans can travel and have themselves terminated?
In short, what are the options for a person willing to end his life legally in the US?
To my knowledge, Oregon is the only place that offers a doctor-assisted “out” for terminal patients. Not many people have opted to use it, but as I understand it, once your doctor says you have 6 months or less to live, you can make the decision and a doctor can assist in administering a lethal dose. You have to establish residency of some length before you’re legitimately entitled to this assistance.
Not sure if any of this has changed. I’m pretty sure there are no other states doing it.
For informational purposes, check the Hemlock Society.
People have the right to refuse treatment. It’s a good idea to have a written statement regarding end of life care in case one is incapacitated, and to have a designated person with power of attorney for health care. This person should have a clear understanding of your wishes in this regard, in addition to what is written down.
So, in the example given of an elderly person with a terminal disease, said individual can certainly refuse any treatment other than palliative care so as to ease pain and suffering.
Active termination is a different thing altogether, of course, and in most situations is termed murder. If a person actively terminates his/her *own *life, while this may be technically illegal, there’s not much the law can do about it, is there? I mean, if I have a serious and painful illness and I ask the doctor to please advise me about dangerous levels of my painkiller and what interactions I must avoid, and then I disregard his/her advice either accidentally or on purpose, what’s anybody going to do about it?
This is perhaps slightly relevant because people from all over the world, includng Americans, travel to use the services of Dignitas when their country/state disallows assisted suicide. I saw a documentary once that followed an American man with some very slowly fatal disease (sorry, I forget what it was) who travelled and used their services because it would have been illegal in his State to use any kind of assisted suicide service.
Following MLS’s link and poking around, I noticed Montana now allows physician assisted suicide as of last Friday.
The OP mentioned “morphine clickers”. IANAMD, but I assume Patient Controlled Analgesia machines were what was being referred to; aren’t all of those programmable to prevent ODing?
Doctors have been known to make this possible, while supposedly giving warnings. For example, the doctor explains carefully to an elderly, terminal patient ‘now be very careful with these morphine tablets. You can take them for your pain, but remember that x tablets in 12 hours can be a fatal dose – take that many and you will go to sleep and not wake up! So keep careful count.’ Then the doctor goes and prescribes a bottle of pills containing 3 or 4 times the lethal dose.
While the doctor isn’t doing anything to do or even encourage it, he is certainly making it possible for the patient to choose to end his suffering.
Some people stockpile their medicine (taking 1/2 of the prescribed dosage or what have you) so when the point of unbearable living comes, they have stash to take them on their merry way.
Everyone in the US has always had the right to die. They just don’t have the right to choose when.
That being said, Kalhoun is certainly right about people stockpiling their medication with the intent of killing themselves. Heck, people have been doing this enough in psychiatric wards to practically make it a literary device. However, it doesn’t really fit into a right-to-die discussion, as this is just suicide and suicide is perfectly legal. (Albeit sort of a grey area WRT insurance policies)
Sure, the doctor gives the terminally ill patient the pills, but it is the patient who administers the lethal dose. The doctor could only prescribe medication in amounts that would not be a lethal dose, but then you basically force the patient to make repeated trips to the pharmacy, which, if I were terminally ill and in pain (heck, even if I were just regularly ill and in pain), would certainly annoy me to no end.
Now, if the doctor gave the patient a loaded revolver, a pen, and some stationery and said, “Now, I’m going to talk to the nurses for a bit. Don’t you go blowing your brains out while I’m gone!” then that would be a (slightly) different story.
Regarding the self-regulating pain med devices, IANAD either, but I used one of these things once following surgery. Mine, at least, had some sort of mechanism that limited the amount of painkiller I could get in a certain period of time. When I was still in pain someone did something to permit a bit more for a while. Whether they changed the substance being used or adjusted the device I have no idea.
Is suicide legal in the US? Actually, how is suicide coded into law at all?
And the insurance bit is relevant to many. It would suck paying a lifetime of premiums only to deny your survivors of your money because you didn’t feel like waiting for six months of agony. (btw, my life insurance is ok with suicide after a one year cooling off period)
Montana does not have the right to assisted suicide. What happened is that a Montana judge ruled that they do. However, this ruling is certain to be appealed and in the ruling will probably be stayed while that is happening. No doubt it’ll end up in the Montana Supreme Court.
I suspect that ultimately it’ll be overruled and they will have to have an initiative/referendum to legalize it. From what I know of Montanans, I expect one would pass. But that’s going to be a few years down the road at the earliest.
BTW, this isn’t necessarily a liberal issue. Lots of liberals don’t agree with it and lots of conservatives favor it.
The Master speaks. In general, in the USA, exclusions for suicide only last the first 2 years of a policy. Plus the difficulty of proving that a terminally ill patient OD’d on painkillers - they don’t routinely autopsy the terminally ill - makes this a moot point for life insurance.
