Question

What does it mean to die with dignity? 

Answer 1

What does it mean to die with dignity?

Death with dignity is an end-of-life option that allows certain terminally ill people to voluntarily and legally request and receive a prescription of medication from their physician to make their death in a peaceful  and dignified manner. A dignified death is a part of human right also .So patients who got some incurable disease ,painful disease,unable to meet thierown activities of daily living choose to die with dignity.It gives terminally ill with the gift of a dignified end and their families an escape from the nightmare of a prolonged, traumatic and harrowing death of a loved one.

Die with dignity can be of two types;

1.Assisted Suicide(physician assisted Suicide)

Here the patient ask for suicidal prescription from doctor and he prescribes the medications .Here the physician offers a means of death .The patient will be ultimately administering the lethal medication.

2. Euthanasia;

Euthanasia will promote death with dignity by the act of physician directly .Euthanasia practices include:

- Terminal sedation:This refers to the practice of sedating the patient to a point of unconsciousness and allowing the patient to die of her disease,starvation or dehydration.

- Withholding life saving treatments:Here the patient makes choice to withdraw the life saving treatment like mechanical ventilators,oxygen etc and promote death.

- Pain medications that hasten the death: Here the ill patient ill be given pain medications which depress her respirations and promote death with dignity.