VSED Bridge to MAiD - Expanding Use

In a series of articles and book chapters, I have defended using Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) as a bridge to legally qualify for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). 

VSED Bridge to MAID: Spotlighting Better End-of-Life Options, 73(1) JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY 314-315 (Jan. 2025) (with Lisa Brodoff). [link]

Medical Aid in Dying to Avoid Late-Stage Dementia, 72(4) JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY 1216-1222 (2024) (with Lisa Brodoff). [link]

Patients with Dementia Using VSED to Qualify for MAID, 2(1) JOURNAL OF AID IN DYING MEDICINE 76-86 (Dec. 2024). [link] 

Expand Right to Die Options for Older Americans: Eleven Ways to Avoid Late-Stage Dementia, in LAW, HEALTHCARE, AND THE AGING BRAIN AND BODY (I. Glenn Cohen, Francis X. Shen, Nina Kohn, Susannah Baruch eds. Cambridge University Press forthcoming 2027). [link]

I have also described the VSED bridge in several videos, like this one (at 45:00) for HSSD. And here for GeriPal.

The message is resonating. Increasingly, we are seeing reports of patients using VSED to qualify for MAID. 

For example, doula Janine Cuthbertson shares the case of Susan. In April 2026 Susan became the first documented case in the state of Hawaii to successfully use a VSED bridge to MAID.