When Alzheimer's patients are at the end stage, how can that end be encouraged legally?

To my knowledge, there is no way to legally encourage the death of anyone else, including patients with Alzheimer’s who are at the end stage.

Assisting someone of sound mind who is dying with their choices for acts which augment their end of life experience is something some states allow by a written health directive.

Euthanasia is murder, legally speaking. The theories behind the prohibition of euthanasia are:

·         Moral. How can we tell if ending a life is just result? How can we tell if the patient wants to be euthanized if they can not communicate? Or even if they did once wish to be euthanized if they ever couldn’t communicate, how do we know whether that wish is still their desire/what if they changed their mind?

·         Social. How do create a society in which euthanasia is not used to create a society which prefers younger or more able bodied people over all others?

·         Religious. Some people believe a life should last until its natural end and others believe even with all the medical science extant to keep people alive, that life should be prolonged until death, regardless of cost or any consequences.

In practice, I have seen circumstances in hospitals where doctors and family members united in their efforts to expedite a loved one’s certain and imminent death in order to alleviate excruciating suffering. This was euthanasia in fact, accomplished by increasing the dosage of morphine via intravenous drip until respiration was slowed, and then stopped.

Reference: Nan Waldman