Having the option of an assisted death “takes the fear out of the dying process” for terminally ill patients, a US doctor has said.

Dr Ryan Spielvogel has walked patients through the process since it was legalized in California in June 2016, and visited the UK last week to share his experience with MPs in Westminster – who will vote on a proposed law next week – and Scotland.

The father-of-three said: “Helping people end their suffering is one of the highest callings I have ever answered and it is one of the most important and rewarding things I do. ‘ve never done as a doctor. »

In California, patients must be mentally competent, terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to be eligible.

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

When the law changed, GP Dr Spielvogel wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it, but agreed to take part in training.

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

Talking to him “challenged my ideas about death,” Dr. Spielvogel said, because the patient explained that he was in intolerable pain and did not want his family to remember him bedridden.

After further evaluations, the man was deemed eligible. Dr Spielvogel said: “I prescribed the medicine and he took it the next day. I then spoke with his daughter and she told me things I will never forget.

“They had a memorial for his father while he was still alive. His friends and family would come from out of town and they would spend the day watching his favorite movies and listening to his favorite songs.

As the sun set, the family gathered on the porch and the patient drank the medicine before passing peacefully.

Dr Spielvogel, 40, added: “She was very grateful that her father had the opportunity to do this and that his death was so beautiful, rather than traumatic.

“It was a paradigm-shifting moment when I realized that dying doesn’t have to be an incredibly laborious, inexorable job all the way to the end.”

Data shows that 30% of patients prescribed this medication do not take it. But the family doctor said many find “tremendous comfort” and emotional relief in having this option.

He added: “It takes the fear out of the dying process because they know that if things get too bad, they will get it.

“The simple prescription takes away the fear and anxiety and allows these people to live, so they don’t have to constantly worry about dying.” »

Dr. Spielvogel said he believes a doctor’s job is to alleviate suffering, which can sometimes mean “doing harm in the short term in an effort to reduce suffering overall.”

He said: “Isn’t it causing immense harm to a person to force them to endure suffering that they did not want and which is unnecessary?

Concerns about coercion are often raised in bad faith because “there have been no documented or suspected cases of coercion regarding assisted dying in any jurisdiction where it is legal,” the doctor added.

And while end-of-life care can often manage discomfort, it cannot always prevent people from feeling a profound loss of autonomy and dignity.

He said: “The idea that all we have to do is provide high quality palliative care to everyone and that will be ridiculous and factually inaccurate.

“Anyone who has any experience of palliative care or has seen family members die knows that this is not the case, that there is still suffering at the end of life. How much suffering is too much? It depends on the individual. This is just one option.

Claims that complications of the dying process are common are also unfounded, Dr. Spielvogel said. He added: “Even if it takes a few hours, that person sleeps comfortably.

“Assisted deaths are the most peaceful deaths I have ever witnessed, and I have witnessed a lot of deaths. »