Hastening death by stopping eating and drinking: Hope Wechkin, Thaddeus Pope, and Josh Briscoe

Hastening death by stopping eating and drinking: Hope Wechkin, Thaddeus Pope, and Josh Briscoe 
GeriPal Podcasts; by Hope Wechkin, Thaddeus Pope, and Josh Briscoe 
Eric and Alex have featured discussions about complex bioethical concepts around caring for people at the end of life, including voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), and multiple episodes about the ethical issues surrounding medical aid in dying (MAID). Recently, discussion has emerged about how these issues intertwine in caring for patients with advancing dementia who have stated that they would not want to continue living in that condition: for those with an advanced directive to stop eating and drinking, how do we balance caring for their rational past self and their experiential current self? Should these patients qualify for medical aid in dying medications? And is there a middle path to provide some degree of comfort while also hastening the end of life?