I saw the headline to this story and started worrying, but it turns out they meant “right to die” in the good old-fashioned sense of being allowed to refuse treatment even when doctors think there’s still hope.
Doctors could be struck off if they fail to respect the wishes of terminally ill patients who want to die by refusing treatment, the General Medical Council is to announce.
They must allow the terminally ill to refuse food and water if the patient does not want treatment that prolongs their life and must abide by “living wills” in which patients specify in advance that they do not want to be resuscitated.
I’m sure there are still plenty of problems with patients whose will cannot be clearly expressed (for whatever reason) or with patients who seem to be pressured into death by relatives, and who knows what all. But in principle, if you’re determined not to continue treatment come what may, then your wishes ought to be respected.
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Jennifer Derwey says
I think there is a large grey zone here, and doctors are probably making the best possible decision based on a combination of factors. Elderly patients aren’t always told the specifics of their condition, especially when doctors or family members feel it will be detrimental, and modern medicine has allowed us to be in the unique position of ‘surviving’ without ‘living’. New treatments are always cropping up, and it’s up to us to decide if we want to go through these treatments or not.
So, I really think this is something we as individuals need to discuss with our families and doctors before we’re incapable of doing so.