Planning a Peaceful Death

This topic may be far-fetched from our agenda of promoting natural and safer alternatives for optimum health, but we feel the need to share this important matter. Many of us try to preserve the healthiest body and mind we can have through conventional and alternative means. Seldom do we think or even talk about death, when in fact, it is an inevitable part of our daily existence. Death respects no age, sex, status, or religion and having the right to a peaceful death will give you and your loved ones a peace of mind when you cannot decide anymore for yourself.

Advance medical directives may be crossing the borderline between practical sense and moral values. Is it right to wish not to be resuscitated when you are terminally ill? Should you have the right to choose when to have breathing apparatus, tube feeding, or dialysis stopped when you are deemed as someone who has very little chances of recovery? Many may see it as a form of euthanasia, to choose death instead of prolonging one’s hopeless suffering and pain.

What exactly is an Advance Medical Directive? It is a written legal document which is made in advance, when you are still fit and capable. This outlines how you want to be treated when you can no longer decide for yourself. You can also assign a proxy to decide on your behalf. This directive is made possible by the 1991 Patient Self-Determination Act, for people to have better control when the unfortunate event comes.

Here are Three Types of Advance Medical Directives to Choose From:

1. Living Will

This is a specific legal document made on what type of treatment you wish to receive when you are not capable of making decisions yourself. You can choose when to have a CPR, or have your vital organs donated for a good cause.

2. Durable Power of Attorney

Choose a person you trust and name him or her to decide for you when you cannot do so. This person shall be your proxy, who will also process every medical expense and document needed at the time of your incapacitation.

3. Do Not Resuscitate Order

Sadly, there are numerous cases when someone is sustained by breathing machines and is in a total vegetative state. When there is no hope of bringing back a patient to a normal, healthy, functioning state, it is wise to have this order added to an advance medical directive when a patient stops breathing.

Prolonging the agony and pain of being sick can be emotionally and financially damaging. The last thing anybody wants is to be a burden in the family when the unexpected happens. It may be tough for a proxy to decide on your behalf and if you don’t want all these extra problems, planning an advance medical directive may have its future reward. Have a peace of mind!

Advance Directives and the Center for Practical Bioethics: