Skip to content
Medicine for People!

VSED

By Douwe Rienstra, MD

1 min read

Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking

Aug 14, 2017

Posted by: Douwe Rienstra, MD

This month a man with a debilitating illness decided to take control of his own destiny. He stopped eating and drinking and died ten days later in the arms of his family at home. The procedure is called VSED and you may have read about it in the national media. Like Washington State's Death with Dignity program, not many people will choose to take this path. Still, there are times when modern medicine cannot prolong your living, but can only prolong your dying. You can learn more at http://endoflifewa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Final-VSED-Instructions-2.14.17.pdf