"Deciding to Die, Then Shown the Door"

This article describes the particular case of Armond and Dorothy Rudolph, a couple in their 90s who decided to spare themselves more suffering, and end their lives before they found themselves in great pain. They did this through a method called V.S.E.D (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking), publicized by the organization Compassion and Choices, “the largest national organization working to expand end-of-life options”. However, when the Rudolphs started V.S.E.D, their retirement home tried to evict them, then called 911. After a long set of legal consultations, it was revealed that V.S.E.D is legal by federal law, and Armond and Dorothy passed away in peace at a house their children rented for them.

This article brought to light an interesting point- how in-control are we of our own bodies? The retirement home’s decision to evict, then call 911 on the Rudolphs is understandable, as the home could be sued for negligence, or worse. However, the fact that the elderly pair had to engage in their own self-negligence, by not eating or drinking, in order to end their lives, and were rushed to the hospital as a result, is unfortunate.

Although assisted suicide is a controversial issue, if it were legal, this whole mess the Rudolphs had to go through to find a fairly painless way out could have been eradicated. The Rudolphs could have come to an agreement with their doctor, and had even simpler deaths. This article is one example, but there are plenty of elderly people who would rather die by their own hand than be in agony for years, and if their method of suicide is more violent than V.S.E.D, it’s not a pleasant picture for anyone.

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/deciding-to-die-then-shown-the-door/?ref=health