A Deliberate Departure: Making Physician-Assisted Suicide Comfortable for Vulnerable Patients

On an episode of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Kilgrave uses his mind control powers to get Jack Denton to give him both of his kidneys. After he loses his kidneys, Denton goes on dialysis and has a stroke. Therefore, when private investigator Jessica Jones tracks down Denton, she discovers that he is wheelchair-bound and unable to speak. Denton goes to great lengths to write a note asking Jones to kill him.

This fictionalized story may be the reality for some people. Everyone wants to live a happy life and to have a good death. Some people have the privilege of dying suddenly or of passing away peacefully while they are asleep. Unfortunately, for many people the process of dying can be a painful ordeal.