It’s Time For Hawaii To Approve Medical Aid In Dying
Even if terminally ill patients want to end their suffering, doctors cannot help them do so in Hawaii.
If you are suffering a terminal illness with only months to live and you want your life to end quickly to stop your pain and anxiety your doctor will tell you under Hawaii law he cannot help you do this.
If you then ask how you will die, if you have cancer, you will likely be told by hunger, thirst or infection.
If you ask what can be done about the pain, you will be told medication, such as morphine, will help.
If you ask how long it will take the doctor will not be able to tell you with any certainty.
This is what my dear wife who passed away in 2015 was told. It was a very difficult time for her and her family who cared for her and watched the slow sometimes agonizing process of her death all the while knowing she wanted to go quickly but because of Hawaii law could not.
If we had lived in a state, such as Oregon, which has had a medical aid in dying law since 1997, she would have been granted her last wish and would not have had to endure what she did in her final days. Other states have passed similar compassionate laws, including Washington and California, i.e., the entire West Coast.
Hawaii should be as compassionate so suffering terminally ill patients here will have the option of saying goodbye when they alone believe it is time. Four former Hawaii governors agree as do 80 percent of Hawaii’s voters.
It is time for Hawaii to be more compassionate!
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