In May and June of this year, VSED Resources board member Kate Christie joined attorney Erin Glass in presenting on VSED at two Washington-based legal conferences. The first, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, met in Seattle and attracted members from all over the country. The second, the Washington State Bar Association’s Real Property, […]
VRNW Member Kate Christie Presents at NAELA and WSBA Read More »
In late 2024, Forbes Library in Northampton, Mass., hosted a conversation about Dr. Lewis Cohen’s latest book, Winter’s End, a case study of a patient with early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia who chose to use VSED to hasten his death before the late stages of the disease. Also on the discussion panel were Dr. Jeff Zesiger, a
End-of-life/VSED conversation between Lewis Cohen, Jeff Zesiger, and Fran Volkmann Read More »
In May, the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass., published an article about a local woman’s new book, Herself to the End. Author Fran Volkmann decided to share the story of her late partner Joan Cenedella’s choice to hasten her death via VSED in order to spread awareness of VSED as a legal, valid end-of-life
New VSED Book: Herself to the End by Fran Volkmann Read More »
A new open access article was published in February 2025 in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM). Co-authored by Hope Wechkin, Paul Menzel, Elizabeth Loggers, Thaddeus Pope, Peter Reagan, and Timothy Quill, the article discusses the approach of Minimal Comfort Feeding (MCF) for cases of advanced dementia. The abstract is below. To read
On October 15, Seattle-based Worry-Free Wednesdays (WFW) sponsored a Seattle Town Hall panel discussion centered on the end-of-life options dementia patients have to sustain their quality of life. WFW is an end-of-life planning, education, and awareness organization helmed by the capable and energetic Wendy Norman, who moderated the October event. Speakers included attorneys Erin Mae
Reducing Fear from a Life with Alzheimer’s Read More »
Researchers from Amsterdam UMC in the Netherlands recently published a new qualitative analysis on patients who chose to hasten their death via VSED. Below are details from the abstract, published in the November-December issue of the journal Annals of Family Medicine. Purpose: Voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED) is a controversial [SIC] method to
New Study on patients who choose VSED Read More »
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
Reblog: Dementia Directive information from EoL Choices NY Read More »
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
More Training Needed for Washington’s Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1608 Read More »
Recently, VSED Resources Northwest coordinator and co-founder Nancy Simmers published a piece on the Good Death Society blog, a project of Final Exit Network (FEN). To read more, visit Sharing VSED Resources In My Community – The Good Death Society Blog.
Reblog: Sharing VSED Resources via The Good Death Society Blog Read More »
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
Book Release: The VSED Handbook by Kate Christie Read More »
