I am glad that you mentioned that VSED stands for Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking for mentally competent patients with life-threatening illness and is legal in all 50 states of the U.S., as also stated by the Lachman’s article. Preserving control and autonomy at the end of life has been one of the foundations of quality of life in cases where terminal ill patients have unbearable pain and suffering, despite high quality palliative care. Without a doubt, I agree that all terminal ill patients should have the autonomy and control over their health care in order to preserve their quality of lives. However, how do doctors and nurses help patient retain control, autonomy and hastening death without infringing the fundamental ethical
