Limits on the Right To Self-Determination (when you have dementia)

From Oregon, known for its “death with dignity” laws, the dilemma facing a couple who are learning the limits of the laws:  

Bill Harris is blunt: For more than a year, he has been trying to help his wife die.

 

The 75-year-old retired tech worker says it’s his duty to Nora Harris, his spouse of nearly four decades, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2009.

 

“Let me be honest: Yes. It’s what she wanted,” he said. “I want her to pass. I want her to end her suffering.”

 

Nora Harris, 64, a former librarian, signed an advance directive after her diagnosis to prevent her life from being prolonged when her disease got worse. Now, her husband said, she’s being kept alive with assisted eating and drinking against her stated wishes.

For more of the story, read “Despite Advance Directive, Dementia Patient Denied Last Wish, Says Spouse.”