Faye Girsh interviewed a man whose 82-year old wife voluntarily stopped eating and drinking. With the support of a doctor and hospice care, she was able to achieve a peaceful end to her years of unbearable suffering with chronic pain. VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking) is useful especially for people who do not meet the strict criteria for Medical Aid in Dying where it is legal. In California, the End of Life Option Act requires that two doctors agree that the person has six months or less to live with a terminal illness. In this case, the patient’s chronic suffering was irremediable, but not terminal.
Books mentioned in this video:
The Handbook is: The VSED Handbook: A Practical Guide to Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking by Kate Christie
The Scholarly work is: Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking: A Compassionate, Widely-Available Option for Hastening Death
Editors: Timothy E. Quill, Paul T. Menzel , Thaddeus Pope, Judith K. Schwarz