Death with Dignity provides an in-depth look at how we die in America today. You'll learn about the shortcomings of our end-of-life system. You’ll learn about terminal torture in hospitals and ICUs and about the alternatives: hospice and palliative care. With laser-sharp focus, Orfali scrutinizes the good, the bad, and the ugly. He makes a strong case that assisted dying complements hospice. By providing both, Oregon now has the best palliative-care system in America. Reading this book may help you or someone you care about navigate this strange landscape we call “end of life.” It can be your gentle and informed guide to “a good death” in the age of hospice and high-tech medical intervention.
Free Chapters
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The free chapters are marked in blue in the Table of Contents below:
Introduction i
Chapter 1: Father to Son: “Please, Kill Me” 1
Keith Olbermann: "My Father Asked Me to Kill Him"
The Unlikely Flare-Gun Killer
What Can Be Done?
Passive Euthanasia: How Many of Us Die
Slow Euthanasia: How the Lucky Ones Die
Involuntary Euthanasia: How Our Pets Die
Voluntary Euthanasia: How Some Would Like to Die
What the Polls Say
The Bottom Line: Whose Death Is It Anyway?
Chapter 2: My Life, My Death, My Choice 17
Jeri Receives Her Final Notice
She Had a Dream: Dying, Jeri’s Way
Do-It-Yourself Dying With Help From the Internet
Her Letter to Compassion & Choices
Help, I Need Somebody
When Lovers Become Killers
Killing Yourself While You Still Can
You Waited Too Long
Not Too Early and Not Too Late
Unnecessary Anxiety and Stress
How Much Physician Assistance?
Lessons Learned
Chapter 3: The Way of Hospice and Palliative Care 35
Slow Dying: Fighting Till the End
Most of Us Die in Hospitals
ICUs and Nursing Homes: The “Bad Deaths”
The Modern Torture Chambers
Hospice: Another Way to Die
Origins of Hospice and Palliative Care
The So-Called “Death Panels”
First Conversation: How Do I Protect Myself?
Second Conversation: When Do I Stop Fighting?
Third Conversation: Where Do I Die?
Hospice: Not for Everyone
Pain Management: A Critical Issue
Palliative Sedation: Can You Depend on It?
Hospice: Yes, There Is Unbearable Pain
Jeri’s Good Death, Hospice Style
Hospice: Superb, but Suboptimal
Hospice: The Report Card
Hospice and the Nembutal: The Case for Synergy
Nembutal or Palliative Sedation: The Ethics
Nembutal or Palliative Sedation: Which Is Better?
Nembutal and Palliative Care: The Synergy
Modest Proposal for Palliative Sedation: Call 911
Bottom Line
Chapter 4: Euthanasia: Modern Milestones 81
Major U.S. Milestones
Major European Milestones
Canada and Australia: Dead Ends?
Chapter 5: Euthanasia in the Real World 93
How Do I Die? The Oregon Conversation
Oregon: A Finely-Tuned Balancing Act
Physician-Assisted Dying, Oregon Style
Oregon’s Death with Dignity: Mrs. Dunn’s Death
Oregon: A System That Works
Washington’s Learning Curve
Netherlands: The Doctor-Patient Relationship
Netherlands: “Euthanasia Talk”
Netherlands: Death by Euthanasia
Netherlands: Top-Notch Palliative Care
Netherlands: No More Secrets
Netherlands: Is Euthanasia Slippery?
Netherlands: Is Involuntary Euthanasia Slippery?
Netherlands: Is Palliative Sedation Slippery?
Netherlands: Slippery Slope for the Vulnerable?
Netherlands’ Lesson: “Let the Doctors Do It”
The Bottom Line: Oregon It Is
Chapter 6: The Great Debate 125
Who Is Against Physician-Assisted Dying?
The Law: Murder vs. Suicide
Is It Ordinary Suicide?
Sanctity of Life: Everyone’s First Choice
Sanctity of Life: The Societal Exceptions
Sanctity of Life: Whose Life Is It?
Sanctity of Life: The Pro-Life Vitalists
Sanctity of Life: Pro-Life vs. Palliative Care
Sanctity of Life: The Clash of Paradigms
Sanctity of Life: Which Way, Catholic Church?
Sanctity of Life: Doctors Must Not Kill
Slippery Slopes: FUD vs. Real Issues
Who Is the FUD Targeting?
The Reformers: “First, Fix the System”
Bottom Line
Chapter 7: Point and Counterpoint 147
Slippery Slope to Nazi Eugenics?
Slippery Slope for Minorities and the Poor?
Slippery Slope for the Elderly?
Slippery Slope for the Disabled?
Does It Discriminate Against the Disabled?
Does It Discriminate Against the Non-Terminal?
Does It Discriminate Against Alzheimer Patients?
Will It Be Used to Ration Health Care?
Rationing: The Elephant in the Room
Does It Put Medicine on a Slippery Slope?
Does It Cause Doctors to Undervalue Life?
Does It Undermine the Doctor-Patient Trust?
Does It Violate the Hippocratic Oath?
Does It Undermine Palliative Care?
Is Taking Control of Your Death Narcissistic?
Can Right to Die Turn Into Duty to Die?
Is There a Patriotic Duty to Die?
Will Grandma Feel She Has a Duty to Die?
Will Grandma Be Killed for the Inheritance?
Don’t Worry, We’ve Got You Covered
Hospice Is All You Need
Does It Devalue Human Life?
Does It Benefit Only the Few?
Could There Be a Cure on the Horizon?
Could There Be a Last-Minute Miracle?
Could There Be a Misdiagnosis?
Is the Decision Truly Voluntary?
Is Oregon Too Good to Be True?
Bottom Line
Chapter 8: Leave It to the Market: The Exit Pill 201
Euthanasia Underground: When Patients Fail
Euthanasia Underground: When Doctors Fail
Ending the Prohibition: The Exit Pill Way
Ending the Prohibition: The Legalization Route
The Legislative Work Ahead
In the Name of Mercy, End This Cruel Prohibition
Find Out More 219
Acknowledgments 231
Table of Contents.
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