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?
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My FIL chose something called ‘twilight sedation’ when he was in hospice. From what was explained to me they gave him a strong sedative and from then on he wouldn’t wake up anymore. He wouldn’t be eating or drinking (he already wasn’t anyway, he had esophageal cancer). And so he would just be unconscious until his body was done and gave up. They said this process could take up to a week but he passed away the day after the sedation.
I think he wanted to choose for himself when he was done rather than just sitting and waiting for it to happen.
Fluids cause moist mucous membranes and with poor swallow reflexes the moisture rattles abs can cause discomfort
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
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