Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking

Abstract

Voluntary stopping eating and drinking (VSED), though relatively unknown and poorly understood, is a widely available option for hastening death. VSED is legally permitted in places where medical assistance in dying (MAID) is not, and unlike U.S. jurisdictions where MAID is legally permitted, VSED is not limited to terminal illness or to those with current decision-making capacity. With adequate clinician and caregiver support, VSED is a compassionate option that respects patient choice. Moreover, the practice is not limited to avoiding unbearable suffering, but may also be used by those who are determined not to live long with unacceptable deterioration such as severe dementia. Despite the misleading image of “starvation,” death by VSED can typically be peaceful and meaningful when accompanied by adequate clinician/caregiver support. VSED is, however, “not for everyone,” and this volume provides a realistic, appropriately critical as well as supportive assessment of the practice. Eight illustrative, previously unpublished real cases are included, receiving pragmatic analysis in each chapter. The volume’s integrated, multi-professional, multidisciplinary character makes it useful for a wide range of readers: patients considering end-of-life options and their families, clinicians of all kinds, ethicists, lawyers, and institutional administrators. Appendices include recommended elements of an advance directive for stopping eating and drinking and what to record as cause of death on the death certificates for those who hasten death by VSED.