Dying and Decision Making — Evolution of End-of-Life Options

I recently helped my father to die. He was an engineer, independent, always on the go and in charge. He began to deteriorate rapidly from an ill-defined dementing illness, and his confusion and intermittent agitation did not respond to the standard treatments that were tried. He had made his wishes clear about avoiding any prolongation of his dying, but now he had lost the capacity to make decisions for himself. Furthermore, we did not know whether his remaining life span was measured in months or years. He was unable to sleep or relax at night, despite trials of neuroleptics, antidepressants, . . .