Medically Assisted Death

Physician-assisted suicide–perhaps more accurately termed physician-assisted dying or medical aid in dying–allows the terminally ill to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of a lethal dose of medication expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose.

Check out my series on voluntarily stopping eating and drinking:
• How to Die a Good Death ( )
• VSED: The Benefits of Fasting for Ending Life ( )
• VSED: The Downsides of Fasting for Ending Life ( )

My Fasting and Cancer ( ) webinar and Q&A also covered this topic.

New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: .

Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.

Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at . You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.

Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources:

• Subscribe:
• Donate:
• Podcast :
• Books:
• Shop:
• Facebook:
• Twitter:
• Instagram:

Leroy Johnson
 

  • @AntonKimS says:

    Based.

  • @AndrewPawley11 says:

    I love this channel!

  • @GaiasFleas says:

    Anyone in unbearable pain can do this at any time at any point in their life, at home and by their own choice. There are tons of pain-free options. I don’t see why physicians and hospitals have to waste time/resources helping with this.

    • @ImDemonWolf says:

      So there are 0 chances of failure.

    • @Mr.N0.0ne says:

      That’s not true. Some people are so ill they are unable to get the supplies or administer the procedure by themselves. If those people cannot get assistance because the law prevents it, they must suffer until they pass naturally.

      Your ignorance on this matter is disappointing. I suggest you think a bit harder and do a bit more research on this before making such posts.

    • @justletmesleep8605 says:

      You don’t see why people who are paid professionally to help ease the suffering of others should waste time and resources easing the suffering of others who are in desperate need of help in having their suffering eased?

      Do you also not see why rain makes things wet?

    • @misterx3188 says:

      Such an ignorant statement.

    • @nyxs60 says:

      As a nurse, I see very few who end their lives in terrible pain. We are there to ensure they are comfortable until the end. My worry with legalising assisted death is that once it is in place, the goalposts change. Canada even seems to be advertising for it or we’re thinking of doing so. I think it is dodgy ground to be honest.

  • @LuminairPrime says:

    Thank you for the video. Death is very common and doctors have a lot of experience with it and should be allowed to do their jobs. Young people with no experience with health care or dying should stay out of other people’s business. This is like abortion: a difficult topic with no good answer except that your health care is none of my business.

  • @misterx3188 says:

    Very important topic. Thanks.

  • @yoginasser305 says:

    If prolonging and saving life is good then shortening and ending life by definition is evil.

    • @rebeccabath5276 says:

      @@yoginasser305 don’t view everything through a cereal box. im sure in circumstances many could never imagine their is an exception

    • @BM1982.V2 says:

      Ending life is evil if no consent is given. But many people are suffering for months or years with incurable diseases and for those people it’s more evil to force them to suffer. It’s akin to torture.

    • @legitbuttsmell says:

      This is the black and white thinking of a child.

    • @RoughNeckDelta says:

      would you go through root canal without the doctor numbing your nerves too?

    • @RoughNeckDelta says:

      I’m curious, are you for or against the death penalty?

  • @nutricoach7947 says:

    What is an now an option to die can soon become a duty to die.
    Plus, persons such as that precious 29 old Dutch women who wasn’t given hope that she could overcome her depression was recently legally allowed to end her life—so sad, so unnecessary.
    We did not give ourselves life. We should not actively end it.
    Provide pain relief as much as needed/able, provide comfort, counseling, compassion and companionship to those who suffer greatly, allow nature to take its course, but to actively take a life? Not our place as individuals or medical personnel.
    I know my view is probably not held by many/any on this thread, but just putting it out there.

    • @pdblouin says:

      “We did not give ourselves life” sounds like it argues the opposite of what you’re saying. I did not consent to be born, why shouldn’t I be allowed to opt out of life? For any reason.

    • @rebeccabath5276 says:

      Of course it’s a slippery slope, maybe their is misinformation. But u don’t know the suffering of another person. Depression is no joke, there are varying degrees of which can cause large amounts of pain or self harm. many people will botch a suicide, I’m not saying it’s good. But don’t label everything as one thing or another when everything is grey

    • @reent4932 says:

      Agreed

    • @maewyn01 says:

      As a Dutchie I would say don’t believe what you read about Dutch euthanasia cases in foreign (non Dutch outlets). Most don’t get the story correct, lots of media use it just to get clicks and money unfortunately.
      We had euthanasia for 23 years and still no one has the duty to die. We still have many elderly people die-ing a natural dead. We still have lots of elderly people with dementia, alzheimers or physical illness being taken care of in homes. I’m not saying people can’t be against it, that’s okay. But it does need proper research and not just fear. Maybe if your living in the US you should be against it because healthcare is so expensive that people might choice this option instead of getting their family in debt. And that would be terrible.

  • @laurentlb says:

    Author of How Not To Die now gives information about how to die.

  • @Amy_Watson says:

    There is a thin sliver of sickness running through the center of this video.

  • @hessambayanifar2987 says:

    Some healthy people trying to force people in pain their opinion. Let the person die in peace ☹️

  • @abc_cba says:

    So, in India when it comes to humans, I am strictly against it as in most Hindu areas, they still abort a girl child as well there are cases where the female newborns were left in the garbage to be disposed off.

    Things are changing but there are many villages where there are no girls left to marry as most the villages either gotten rid of the girl child at birth or if she married someone of her own choice (by her own brothers and parents) for dishonouring the culture aka “honour k1ll1ng” is infamous in my country.

    It is so massive in rural India that the government of India had to ban gender determination of foetuses so, as to save girl child.

    So, things can be different in different countries.

  • @mjs28s says:

    They allow a patient to refuse food and water.

    That is what my father chose. Within a few days he was unconscious and they kept him medicated for pain while he went through the dying process. That is in a state without “medically assisted death” meaning that you can’t end yourself within a few minutes. But still, there are likely options like that.

    • @RoughNeckDelta says:

      My father passed in a similar way, but after going through it I’d rather he had the choice to end it immediately instead of going through that process even if he was unconscious.

  • @ginac2772 says:

    I’m glad this option will be available to me because I live in Oregon. Strictly a personal choice.

  • @TT-zl7ir says:

    Look to Canada to understand what happens when you combine government provided healthcare and MAID.

  • @MegaSteve1957 says:

    Maybe those voting against living in a prolonged state of agony should undergo a short sharp demonstration of such a state of being to see how they like it, which my late wife was forced to endure for 3 months before the in any case inevitable. Perhaps it should be truly democratic as in being the choice of the actual individual rather than being at the mercy of imbeciles who base their opposition on faith only based beliefs.

  • @kelleend7 says:

    I was against End-of-Life choices until I became my father’s caregiver at the end of his life. Unfortunately, pain from multiple cancers became unmanageable and hospice care was failing him. Being the “John Wayne” kind of guy that he was, he chose when and where his life would end. All his loved ones were contacted and were with him when he said goodbye. It was one of the most loving moments I’ve ever experienced, and one I’ll never forget, or regret.

    • @mme4211 says:

      thank you for sharing this..I hate hearing that hospice failed him as I work in hospice and we take it very hard when we hear these stories. I am so glad you are at peace.

    • @RoughNeckDelta says:

      This is why I’m of the opinion to let personal decisions be personal.

    • @dianeladico1769 says:

      So sorry about your dad. He was very lucky to have you and your family to support him. It must be a great comfort to all of you that he was able to leave on his own terms. In the end that’s all we can do.

  • @johnvogt621 says:

    Your video link for the downsides of this is broken.

  • @ramenface_________________ says:

    Im MAD about this

  • @peterjsmith5918 says:

    Doctors should only focus on healing, and.shouldn’t be anywhere near the decision to end life. There’s too much conflict of interest. Once they decide someone will die, they have an emotional incentive to prove themselves right. This decision should at minimum be decided by a neutral third party. I’ve also seen this used to cover doctor’s mistakes. They administer the wrong medication, then other medications to treat the side effects, then diagnose the patient with a terminal condition. They then consider the patient too sick to be transferred for a second opinion, and get consent from the family to kill the patient using very questionable sales techniques.

    I’ve also seen many people heal from terminal conditions through diet. This used to start happening in hospice when they remove the medications responsible for some of their ailments. Now they’re killing these people before we can even try. This is an attack on alternative health modalities, and conventional medicine will only get worse when you remove that competition.

  • @andrewblack7607 says:

    Your advice IS “medically” assisted death, if one considers Greger an actual doctor. Eat some more elderberries, mmmmkay?

  • >