assistance

Help given to a person: support or aid. Merriam-Webster defines to assist as to “give usually supplementary support or aid to” someone. In health care, social services and everyday life, assistance means things like care and treatment, financial support, a safe place to stay, and an explanation of what is happening.

Why it matters here: statements recorded in the journal ask, again and again, “Do you accept assistance?” while what they offer is euthanization. Ending a person's life is not assistance in the ordinary meaning of the word. Where the law allows medical aid in dying, as Colorado does, it is a narrow medical process that a person with a terminal illness must ask for themselves; it is never offered by a voice or a stranger, and nobody can be held until they agree to it.

Related terms: euthanasia outside legitimate health care, self-elected suicide, military ugly workflow

Sources: assist — Merriam-Webster · What does safe sharing look like?