In the News: VRNW members interviewed by the Salish Current

/ Death with Dignity, In the news, Medical aid-in-dying

In mid-February, VRNW co-founders Nancy Simmers and Andrea Fenwick were interviewed for an article that appeared in the Salish Current,  a nonprofit, online local news organization serving Whatcom, San Juan, and Skagit counties. Journalist Kai Uyehara also interviewed Cassa Sutherland, End of Life Washington‘s client services manager, and Lashanna Williams, executive director of Seattle-based A Sacred …

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VRNW Member Responds to Seattle Times Article about WA’s Death with Dignity/MAID Law

/ Death with Dignity, Medical aid-in-dying, Personal story, VSED

Recently, retired newspaper photographer Peter Haley penned an editorial in the Seattle Times: “State’s ‘Death with Dignity’ law failed my wife.” In his piece, Haley wrote that Toni, his “beloved wife of 27 years,” was forced to die alone because Washington state’s medical aid-in-dying (MAID) law doesn’t cover ALS. Toni chose to die on her …

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Reblog: Dementia Directive information from EoL Choices NY

/ End of life planning, VSED

Judith Schwarz, PhD, is the Clinical Director of End of Life Choices New York and a nationally recognized expert on VSED. In her recent post on Medium, “What is a ‘dementia directive’ to stop eating and drinking?” Schwarz explains the use of an advanced directive to prevent handfeeding in later stages of dementia. The article …

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More Training Needed for Washington’s Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1608

/ Death with Dignity, End of life planning, Medical providers

In Whatcom County, which VSED Resources Northwest calls home, the only hospital is run by a faith-based healthcare system that chooses not to medically support Washington State’s Death with Dignity law. In the past, both patients and medical providers have been confused about what the hospital’s responsibility is to offer accurate information and referral information …

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Book Release: The VSED Handbook by Kate Christie

/ Education, End of life planning, VSED / 1 Comment

Novelist and VRNW member Kate Christie, whose mother Jane used VSED in early 2020 to escape the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, has released a new book, The VSED Handbook: A Practical Guide to Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking. A combination instructional manual/personal memoir, The VSED Handbook provides detailed instructions for planning and carrying out …

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Poem by Kate Vredvoogd

/ Personal story, VSED / 2 Comments

The following poem was written by Kate Vredvoogd while being present with and sitting at the bedside of her beloved father, Bruce Vredvoogd, during his 11 day VSED process. Kate is a writer, photographer and teacher of the English language. Her website is www.wanderlustwords.com. My dad is the trickster, the quiet careful listenerwho hears the …

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Is a VSED Webinar in conflict with PeaceHealth’s ethical policies? Not really.

/ Education, VSED

Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) is becoming a more recognized end-of-life choice, and more patients are choosing to hasten their death by stopping eating and drinking. Typically, they make this choice when they feel that their body is so severely compromised that their quality of life is no longer acceptable. Many patients, afraid of …

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