Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24386552-20141004020136/@comment-5278765-20141004020455

Actually, slow coding (and similar types of merciful deaths) happen more often than medical professionals would care to admit. I used to live with a nurse who did long-term care and she said that a lot of the time, patients who were terminal would get orders from doctors which essentially allowed them to morphine themselves to death. Most often, the barrier is the family, as it was in this episode. A lot of family members aren't ready to say goodbye, so they pressure ailing family members to prolong their suffering.