The laws being passed, in the US and globally (with possibly the exception of Switzerland) aimed at the issue of "Death with Dignity", do not address the fact that a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease could live up to 10 years or more after diagnosis. Physician assisted "self-determination" is generally restricted to those who have Doctors willing to certify in writing that their patient has less than six months to live. That restriction excludes many Alzheimer's Disease sufferers who have an incurable disease that will ultimately kill them, but may take many years of suffering by the patient and care givers before death. Understandably Doctors will not sign off.
I submitted the post below a few months ago on a different but related subject, that describes an "alternative solution" that will continue to gain followers, so long as state legislatures frame the laws to exclude suffers like Alzheimer's patients from Physician assisted death with dignity.
FC
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Re: Accomplished Patient Opts for Suicide in the Face of AD
Postby Fc1345linville » Sat Aug 19, 2017 2:45 pm
This tread may have been gathering dust the past three years, but I am certain that the subject remains one of primary interest to many members and readers. If you are unaware of
The Final Exit Network, http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/index.html, the site has a lot of information on what is available to those who want a death with dignity. When you open the link, note on the right side of the Home page the many articles on this and related subjects, all fairly recent. Enabling legislation is still only in a handful of "blue" states, and none of them seem to deal with dementia. I think they all require a licensed Physician to certify that the person has no more than six months to live.
I personally am trying to do all I legally can to ensure that my life will end if I am diagnosed as having AD, and I get to a point where I do not recognize, or cannot communicate, with my wife, children and grand children. My wife and I recently had our lawyer overhaul and strengthen our Durable General, and Medical, Power of Attorney documents. Perhaps most importantly we also created very detailed Advance Medical Directives, specifically tailored to the wishes of each of us, and covering any medical condition we might encounter, not just dementia.
I hope this is useful to some.
Fc