Helping terminally ill patients to end their suffering is one of the most rewarding things that I've ever done

HAVING the option of an assisted death "takes the fear out of the dying process" for terminally ill patients, a US medic says.

- Hanna Geissler

Dr Ryan Spielvogel has supported people seeking help to die since it was legalised in California in June 2016, and visited the UK last week to share his experience with MPs in Westminster and Scotland.

He told the Express: "Helping people end their suffering is one of the highest callings I have ever answered and it's one of the most important and rewarding things I have ever done as a doctor." Patients in California must be terminally ill, mentally competent adults with a prognosis of six months or less to be eligible.

Some 4,287 people had ended their lives through assisted dying in the state up to the end of 2023. Last year, 1,281 were prescribed life-ending medication and 858 died after taking it.

When the law changed, GP Dr Spielvogel was not entirely sure how he felt about it but agreed to take part in training.

He remembers clearly the first patient he saw an 80-year-old man with chronic kidney disease for whom dialysis was not working.