Letters to the Editor: Forcing dying patients to wait before ending their lives is cruel

To the editor: Your excellent editorial on California's aid-in-dying law, which has worked as intended, highlights the need for improvements.

There is no statutory waiting period for ending life-sustaining treatments such as withdrawing a feeding tube, ceasing dialysis or turning off a pacemaker, even though doing so will result in death. So, there is no justification for a 15-day waiting period for a dying patient to obtain a prescription for drugs that may be taken when — if ever — suffering becomes unbearable.

Also, many other reasonable safeguards for medical aid in dying will remain, but it's important to note that these safeguards are not statutorily required when a patient hastens death by other means, such as never starting life-sustaining treatments.

Of course, best practice dictates that patients are offered treatment options to improve quality life such as hospice care, which many patients who access medical aid in dying receive. But, in the end, a dying patient should be able to choose the timing of their death.

David Leven, Pelham, N.Y.

The writer is executive director emeritus and senior consultant for End of Life Choices New York.

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