A Californian doctor was put in a tricky position recently when approached by a colleague. In whispered tones her colleague explained that he had been asked by a patient about the ‘End of Life Option Act’ and he didn’t know what to say in response. In fact he wasn’t even sure whether it was legal in California…
The ‘End of Life Option Act’ is a law that allows doctors to administer, to a patient who requests it, a cocktail of drugs that will kill them. There are certain criterion that the patient needs to meet before the doctor can oblige; namely, the patient must be an adult, in a mental state where they are able to make such a decision about ending their life, and they must be able to administer the drug cocktail themselves. Only patients with a life expectancy of less than 6 months are eligible.
This Act became legal in California in June 2016. Oregon was the first state to pass the law 20 years ago, and was followed by Washington and Vermont. Colorado has recently done the same. So, out of 50 states, the ‘End of Life Option Act’ is legal in just 5 of them. As Dr. Zitter points out in her article, this complex subject becomes even more complex, because what the law doesn’t stipulate is the finer details: The individual patient selection process, and the composition of the drug compound used to kill the person. These details are left to the doctor or hospital to determine.
Another Californian doctor, Dr. Lonny Shavelson, founded ‘Bay Area End of Life Options’ and he provides education for doctors, advice for patients, and the lethal dose of drugs, which he has found varies from patient to patient, to those patients who meet the legal criteria. He says that his greatest successes are those where the patients change their minds about assisted dying, because they are no longer depressed or distressed for any number of reasons. Often, other avenues can be explored to improve a patient’s quality of life, making them much less likely to want to end their lives prematurely.
According to Dr. Shavelson there are currently no formal protocols, official procedures, outcome measurements, certificates of expertise or an oversight board, in any of the 5 participating states. And Dr Zitter poses a very important question: “All medical procedures require training. Why should one this weighty be an exception?”
Assisted suicide, like abortion, is another fiercely debated subject. Christians are dead against it… and I’m sure I don’t need to explain why. But something Dr. Zitter said in her article really struck me: “Over-mechanization of dying in America has created a public health crisis. People feel out of control around death. A life-ending concoction at the bedside can lend a sense of autonomy at a tremendously vulnerable time.”
I was saddened when I thought that this “tremendously vulnerable time” could have been the last time in that person’s life where they felt the need to question what awaits them after death. It could have been the last time where their vulnerability and fear would remind them of a God who loves them, and who died so that they could live. Assisted suicide is just another way for us to take control of our lives, but it’s the last time we will ever be able to do so. The saying “putting a final nail in the coffin” has never sounded so chilling.
Source: The New York Times: Should I Help My Patients Die? by Jessica Nutik Zitter
Louise Carter
