JAMA Network Studies Address Rational Suicide As Part of End of Life Planning

As the debate over rational suicide continues, the JAMA Network has released studies on end of life planning and physician-assisted suicide. Explore the links to these studies and learn more about the complex issue of end of life decision making for terminally ill individuals.

The debate is brewing. Is rational suicide really rational? What does rational suicide mean?

The definition in simple terms : “the concept that suicide is presumably a reasonable choice by a terminally ill person. The ending of one’s life for considered reasons as opposed to emotional/psychological reasons.”

Of course there is nothing “simple” about this subject. With the growing aging population, we are facing living longer, but, not healthier. With advanced technologies and medical advancements.. we now have the ability to extend our life span.

The ‘right to die’ movement is growing, as boomers begin to age. Many are expressing they want to have the right to choose the time and manner of their death.

Many boomers are experiencing:

Watching friends and families live with dementia
Chronic and painful medical conditions
And progressive illnesses.

Many want to ability to make a “rational” assessment of their end of life planning. They want to assure freedom from pain or a debilitating disease. Of the utmost importance to all is for their quality of life.

The recent death of Gill Pharoah at a Swiss Euthanasia clinic has fueled this debate. She was a healthy 75-year-old palliative care nurse from London. She has worked with the elderly most of her nursing career.

She recently wrote to the Times, baldly claiming that “many old people are a burden on society”. While she was healthy, she did not want to become a “burden” on her family or society. While I think that cases such as Ms Pharoah are rare, the word “burden”, I believe sits in the minds of many aging seniors. This may be the reason that our second highest suicide population in the US , is those 85 years of age and older.

The JAMA Internal Medicine… has released studies on end of life and physician assisted suicide.

If this is a topic of interest to you, here are links to studies that will help you make choices that are right for you.