Dying without needless pain is a human right—just not in Virginia

Dying without needless pain is a human right—just not in Virginia
By Ryan Garnowski
Richmond Times-Dispatch
December 19, 2023
As I sat beside my mother in hospice for 11 somber days, I couldn’t help but wonder if this supposed pinnacle of “comfort care” was truly the humane end many insisted it to be. ...There’s plenty of speculation one could make as to why MAID isn’t more widespread. ... Regardless of the reason, the fact remains: States without MAID policies are condemning the terminally ill to unnecessary anguish. ... Still, it’s precisely because our medical community can’t predict the time, manner or conditions of one’s death that MAID should be a no-brainer. Nearly all end-of-life reform advocacy groups make clear that a self-managed death isn’t the same as suicide or euthanasia, and is instead a peaceful, humane and seemingly preferable alternative to the horrible conditions some in their final days endure.