X-Message-Number: 27891
From: 
Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 22:34:52 EDT
Subject: Re: Choosing the Time

David Pizer writes that from his experience most people prefer to pass away  
at home, and are in denial until near the end. Even in such a case, timing 

your  death by going on oxygen until withdrawal will mean rapid deanimation, and
doing  this with a doctor nearby and an icebath ready is far better than dying 
at a  random time and lying around until death is discovered, a doctor is 

summoned  (and arrives hours later because in his view there is no urgency now)
and only  then is rescue begun.  Also, although I recognize Mr. Pizer's 

experience,  all my family members have died in a hospital or nursing home. In 
most 
cases  death was expected, they were unconscious or nearly so, they could have 
been  transported, and one facility would have been like any other to them.  

So I  still think some people might prefer to be moved near a cryonics facility.
 
Rudi Hoffman is concerned that we may draw the attention of anti-euth  

anasia-ists, but what I am discussing is an uncontroversial common practice as  
far 
as I know.  Doctors often keep terminal patients "alive" until the  family can 
say goodbye, then terminate life support. I have recently become  interested 
in living wills as a way to lower the impossibly-high Medicare  shortfall ($30 
trillion!) and just read the living will the Veteran's  Administration offers 
everyone at signup.  "If [when I am dying] I am  unable to participate in 

decisions...I direct my physician .. to withdraw  procedures that merely prolong
the dying process.." is their wording. This is  exactly what I am talking 

about, with the withdrawal being at a time when death  will ensue promptly.  
This 
is done in a plain-vanilla living will from the  VA, and so far as I know no 
mobs with torches are after them. In fact  I have spoken with the Patient 

Advocates about it, and they say most people just  fill out the forms and say 
Thank 
You. So I see  no controversy.  
 
Examples the VA gives of life sustaining treatments they willl  withdraw 

include mechanical ventillation, dialysis, artificial nutrition and  hydration,
antibiotics, transfusions and CPR. Mechanical ventillation is the  best of 

these, but stopping dialysis, nutrition or antibiotics might bring  death within
a 
prediction window of a day or less if you kept track of buildup  levels. Which 
would make standby more feasible. What else should we  consider?
 
Alan
 
 


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