Thankful to have a choice

In response to Dr Ladouceur's editorial,¹ in my practice I do not have the opportunity—the privilege—of being with patients who have the ability to choose the time and mode of their own death. In my practice, death would be terrifying, unexpected, and without family members. I would not wish it on anyone, and I am thankful that I and my family members finally have—with informed consent—options about our deaths that we already have about our lives. No physician is forced to provide medical assistance in dying unwillingly, but no physician is allowed to prevent a patient from accessing that which is their right. And so it should be. Philosophizing about the nature and meaning of death and suffering is important, but I will not impose the result of my personal philosophical musings on others. I would not even impose it on a suffering pet.

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