It’s one thing to pass a law, but does is work out in practice? This report is depressing:
Terminally ill patients can now legally choose to end their lives in California, but family members say taking advantage of the new policy is easier said than done.
California’s End of Life Option Act, authored by Democratic Assembly member Susan Talamantes Eggman, has been in effect since June 2016. Eggman recently invited family members whose loved ones had tried to use the new law to testify at a hearing.
Kelly Davis of San Diego spoke about helping her sister Betsy Davis exercise her right to die. She said it mostly worked out, but they hit a roadblock acquiring the lethal dose of medication her sister’s doctor had prescribed.
“We called numerous pharmacies with no success — nobody had it, or they weren’t willing to provide the quantity Betsy needed,†Kelly Davis said. “One pharmacy said they would draw the attention of the FDA if they were to provide amount of Seconal she needed.â€
Instead, Betsy Davis died peacefully after drinking a mix of medications that her sister described as a “toxic sludge.â€
Other families had different problems. They couldn’t find doctors to prescribe the medication, or staff treating their loved ones in care facilities wouldn’t talk about the law at all.
The strict requirements sometimes block patients from being able to choose death. Under the law, patients must have six months or less to live, be of sound mind, and be able to ask for the medication themselves and be able to administer it without help. Doctors aren’t required to counsel patients about the option or write prescriptions for aid-in-dying drugs.
The most recent report from the state health department shows that 258 people started the voluntary end-of-life option process in 2016, 191 of them received prescriptions, and more than half chose to ingest the lethal medication. Most of them were white adults over age 60.
My dr has prescribed hydrocodone 5-325 for incurable stomach cancer. How many of
these could bring respiratory failure and death and has anyone tried this method?