Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

Mike Lee discusses his living will scenarios. He specifically points out:

I don’t love life merely for living’s sake. It’s the quality of life that’s important. When I can’t live without pain, enjoy good food and drink, have a deep conversation with my friends, or laugh at my wife’s jokes, it’s time to go.

The only catch is that I really don’t relish the thought of starving to death. That’s no way for a man to die. An overdose of morphine is much more my cup of tea. If someone has to wheel my vegetative ass to Oregon to make that happen, you have my blessing, and my thanks.

So there are 2 things here.

First, when you get "cut off" Terry Shiavo style, you don't die of starvation. You die of dehydration. Much like that elementary school puzzle about life on the moon, you can't go very long without water. However, one of the secrets of death that is overlooked is that this is a fairly easy way to check out. I have seen anecdotal stories about people doing this willfully, and while, like a horrible hangover, it is painful for a few hours, once you are past the first day of dehydration, there is minimal pain. It is not unheard of for the elderly to opt for this route. Indeed, this is a common behavior for non-human pack/social mammals of many stripes when beset by old age and chronic pain.

Secondly, ask yourself why right-to-die laws aren't standard. If medical care is about quality as well as quantity of life, why are medical assistance at the end of life is verboten. (That book is by my sisters father in-law, btw.)

I would also note that...

Once that nasty business is taken care of, the real fun begins. I don’t want a funeral, and I don’t want to be buried. I used to always want my ashes scattered in the Sea of Japan, where I could rejoin my ancestors. Now, I don’t know. If things keep going as they are I may well find my peace in Madagascar. I leave it to my survivors to make that decision.

Cremation is particularly environmentally unfriendly. Might I suggest being buried in a forested area (or with the provision that a tree be planted above you) in a simple wood or cardboard box? Both the sealed-casket and graveyard, along with the usual embalming process can be disastrous on a local water supply, and to get a little "Lion King" on everyone, short-circuits that whole circle of life thing.