Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) - Fact Sheet
A person may choose to control their own dying by making a conscious decision to refuse nutrition and hydration of any kind, including artificial nutrition and/or hydration. This option, also known as VSED, can be chosen by a decisionally-capable adult who consciously refuses foods and fluids in order to advance the time of their death. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right of a mentally capable individual to refuse medical therapies, including food and fluids.