eli5: Patients in hospice care are often unconscious due to high doses of sedative drugs, and are given no intravenous fluids, which leads to death by dehydration. Why is this done? Is there any difference between this and physician-assisted suicide?

Question

eli5: Patients in hospice care are often unconscious due to high doses of sedative drugs, and are given no intravenous fluids, which leads to death by dehydration. Why is this done? Is there any difference between this and physician-assisted suicide?

In: Other

Answer 1

The purpose of hospice care is to provide comfort to patients near the end of their life. Hospice does not prolong life nor does it end life. Common orders from the doctor to patients on hospice is morphine every so often/as needed, while discontinuing IV fluids, monitoring, etc. A patient on hospice will not have many cables or tubes attached to them since they are nearing the end of their life & the use of IV fluids and monitoring is no longer necessary

Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is the act of a physician administering a lethal dose/drug to aid the patient in passing. Controversial subject which is why it’s only legal in some states