I’d never understood why
anyone would want to end her
or his life prematurely. Reading
about Gertrude helped me
to understand this issue for the
first time and caused me to think
about how I would feel if most
of what I loved disappeared.
I support the American Academy
of Hospice and Palliative
Medicine’s preference for the term
“physician-assisted death,” rather
than “physician-assisted suicide.”
The former conveys that patients
are being aided in their efforts to
take control of their condition,
hopefully helping family members
to better accept this decision