Thursday, May 7, 2015

Brother was pressured to assisted suicide in Washington state.

This article was published by Californians Against Assisted Suicide.


A few years ago, my brother, Wes Olfert, died in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal.

When he was first admitted to the hospital, he made the mistake of asking about assisted suicide. I say a mistake, because this set off a chain of events that interfered with his care and caused him unnecessary stress in what turned out to be the last months of his life.

By asking the question, he was given a "palliative care" consult by a doctor who heavily and continually pressured him to give up on treatment before he was ready to do so. Other doctors and staff members also lost interest in helping him once they learned that he had asked about assisted suicide.

With legal assisted suicide, by brother's choice was not enhanced; he was instead written off and pressured to die. Assisted suicide should not be legal.

Marlene Deakins, RN Tuscon Arizona

1 comment:

afcw1969google said...

My neighbor, who I invite to share my extra meals, kept asking me questions if I would have assisted my parents to die, and other scenarios for A.S. My older sister probably killed my dad with extra morphine provided by Hospice. I warned my family about the bad effects on my dad when he could no longer walk and his last speech was in whispers too low to understand. His night caregiver would not let him get out of bed. She slept all night. Arthur, my neighbor above, seemed intent on pushing me into agreeing that assisted suicide was ok. This neighbor once nearly died of a sleep med overdose with severe kidney damage that was saved by ER. My own sleep med Temazepan tastes like a poison. One time when I seriously wished to die, I almost did from what I thought was a heart attack that woke me up. I asked God to forgive me and never let me wish to die again. Jesus has healed me of sicknesses and many pains. I no longer take pain relievers and almost no medications. "Tho He slay me, yet will I trust Him" Read Job 13:15