If mankind manages to stick around long enough, I expect that someday we will come up with ways of minimizing the suffering associated with dying so that dignity and comfort can be preserved.
Heroin. Reputedly, it has far fewer adverse side effects than Morphine, especially for longer-term, higher-dose use, as many terminally ill patients require. Too bad it's only available to junkies. High-dose Morphine is no picnic, and pain, generally, is actually one of the most under-treated syndromes in medicine.
The medicalization of death can be tragic. Some hospice programs help, but others suck. I would rather die at home, or by my own hand if need be, than in a hospital.
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