“Sisters Face Death With Dignity and Reverence,” New York Times:

Dr. McCann’s long relationship with the sisters gives him the time and opportunity, impossible in the hurly-burly of an intensive-care unit, to clarify goals of care long before a crisis: Whether feeding tubes or ventilators make sense. If pain control is more important than alertness. That studies show that CPR is rarely effective and often dangerous in the elderly.

“It is much easier to guide people to better choices here than in a hospital,” he said, “and you don’t get a lot of pushback when you suggest that more treatment is not better treatment.”

. . .

“This is what our culture, our society, is starved for, to be rich in relationships,” Sister Mary Lou said. “This is what everyone should have.”

From The Gazette (Montreal), “The push for euthanasia could be the death of us all:”

Imagine carrying around with you at all times a sort of get-out-of-hospital-alive card, sometimes called a sanctuary card. Its message: I do not want to be killed even though my quality of life seems to you to be unbearable.

Hard to imagine? In Holland and Belgium right now such cards are in demand. They may become essential in the not too distant future for seniors in Quebec and other parts of Canada and the U.S. who do not want to die before their time because other people believe that killing you is in your best interest, or that you should be assisted to kill yourself.

Right to die: Final Exit Network targeted by authorities, west suburban man’s plan to kill himself with right-to-die group’s help is on hold

Kurt Perry is a 26-year-old man suffering from a neurological condition (Charcot-Marie-Tooth, or CMT) that leads to weakness in the extremities.

For three years, Perry had come to rely on these Final Exit “guides” for emotional support. He also counted on them being present, but not participating, on the Thursday he planned to “hasten his death”—a phrase the group prefers to euthanasia.

“In a way, Final Exit Network is another family,” Perry explained. “They listen to me and give me advice about how to go through my life . . . until my decision is made and I’ve suffered enough.”

Later in the article one of the Final Exit volunteers asserts, “It’s compassionate. It’s one human being with another human being as they pass from living to dying.”

No, that’s what hospice is.  This is the intentional killing (the suicide) of a person who needs true compassion.

Slate has an excerpt from a new book about a dog who is a hospice volunteer.

Was it smart, I found myself wondering, to bring along this dog, who’d spent most of the first four years of his life alone outdoors? But he looked all right, his ears and tail up, no signs of stress or anxiety. In fact, he seemed to be studying the room, looking carefully at me, at Jamie and Carol, seeking cues.

He cocked his head at me. “It’s OK, Iz,” I said. “Say hello.”

I’m somewhat familiar with dog therapy, and from what little I know, I believe it can be helpful in some cases. Some dogs seem to have a real sense of human sickness and suffering, and a unique way of keeping company. We had a cocker spaniel who seemed to have a bit of that ability.

If I were sick or dying, I think I would appreciate having a dog visit. But I’m a dog guy.

If you have a few minutes, take the time to read the entire excerpt. I’m looking forward to reading the book.