When our beloved family pet gets stricken ill, veterinarians are able to put them to sleep. However, when we ourselves are stricken with catastrophic illness, our choices are either to endure a never ending series of treatments or to abstain from any treatment and be kept in comfort with pain killers for however long it takes for nature to take its course.
In some circumstances, families are able to request that physicians withhold life support, provided that the patient documented that wish while they were still mentally competent.
If a patient is able to request that life support and feeding tubes can be removed when their families and physicians determine that there are no other measures that can be taken to end their suffering, then a patient of sound state of mind should be able to request a painless, medically-assisted death at the time of their own choosing, in order to spare themselves and their loved ones from prolonged, needless suffering.
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