I’ve watched people die.
Some slip away peacefully in their sleep, the best-case scenario. Perhaps for days they are comatose, barely arousable, and then, slowly, their organs fail. In some cases, people describe that everything seemed fine until they couldn’t awaken their loved one.
But I’ve also seen suffering.
People taking shallow breaths as their lungs fill up with fluid, their hearts racing in an effort to keep up. Others in pain, getting doses of morphine to stop their “air hunger” or help alleviate discomfort as their bodies fail. Still others hooked up to machines, with no hope of recovery but no directives on when to let them go.
A sticker displayed at the Legislature by a supporter of medical aid in dying.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Then there are those who have a terminal diagnosis who feel good now, but have this ever-present fear of what happens next, this lingering sense of doom that once the pain starts, it won’t ever go away.
For those who I know are dying, I do my best as a physician to help them enroll in hospice. With the expert guidance of those most familiar with the terminally ill, the role of hospice helps to ease the path for those who still have time left to settle their affairs, to say their goodbyes to this life, to be kept as comfortable as possible until the end.
But there are other options. Controversial ones.
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Many of my colleagues don’t agree with me, and would not want to get involved. I understand that and respect their decision. However, I support medical aid in dying.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t value life, or hold my duties as a physician — to do no harm — lightly. It’s just that I define harm as suffering, and if there is a way that I can help to prevent suffering, I feel compelled to do just that.
I don’t feel this is a question of religion. After all, everyone’s personal religious beliefs should be respected, as it is their own. But I also don’t feel that their beliefs should dictate the law, or restrict my choices if I have a different belief.
The key to the medical aid in dying bill is that this will be the first time in the state of Hawaii that people will have the option, should they be terminally ill, to end their lives on their own terms, when they choose, and painlessly.
From a practical standpoint, it’s hard to restricting someone from suicide even now. But there aren’t very many peaceful ways to do it.
Should those who are already suffering from a terminal illness be restricted from making a choice to end their lives because of the law?
The testimony to the Legislature reflected the viewpoints of the most vocal proponents and opponents. Many questioned if there would be safeguards to protect those who are not in their right mind, or have dementia, or who are mentally challenged. But the law is clear in its intent. Medical aid in dying is limited to those who have a terminal illness, certified by two different doctors and now with mandatory counseling prior to getting a prescription for medication.
Doctors will not be forced to participate. Patients will never be forced to take their lives. Religious groups who feel this goes against their beliefs will never be forced to be involved.
California passed legislation in 2015 to allow medical aid in dying. It’s been legal in Oregon since 1997. Now it’s Hawaii’s turn.
The goal is to provide a choice for everyone who wants to know more, and not restrict those who are interested because of the beliefs of someone else. Everyone’s views should be respected.
California passed legislation in 2015 to allow medical aid in dying. It’s been legal in Oregon since 1997. Now it’s Hawaii’s turn.
I may be a doctor in Hawaii, but I am also a daughter who watched her mother suffer as she died from metastatic colon cancer, with pain that hospice couldn’t alleviate despite increasing doses of morphine.
I am a future patient who might be diagnosed with a terminal illness and not want to die the way I have seen some of my patients pass on.
And finally, I am a firm believer that people need to be given the freedom to choose their own destiny.
If they have less than six months to live, they should spend their time living on their own terms. When the time comes, they should be given the choice to die on their own terms, as well.
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