I think the example of trauma experienced by strangers working on the Green Mile that witness an execution is a poor comparison to a planned death among loving family members. Close family members almost always want to be present for a loved ones deaths, whether it be in a hospital, at home dying a “natural” death, or planning a peaceful death outside of the medical world. Death of a loved one in any setting is traumatic. Period.
I have planned a peaceful end game that doesn’t depend on hospice, doctor approvals, or the like, and both my wife and daughter want to be there to kiss me one last time, tell funny stories, listen to my favorite songs, and say their farewells. I’m nowhere near that point and my plans might very well change, but so long as the method is not violent (shotgun to the head, anyone?), being present has always been their wish.
Of course they would not be participating in any way, but our family would be together for my big sleep. I don’t see that as a bad thing. In my case they would not be actively “involved,” although several end of life stories here that did involve medical prescriptions had family participation in administering the medication.
Will my family experience trauma watching me breathe my last breath? Of course, but for many of us the daily trauma they would experience of carrying this no-win disease to the brutal end far exceeds the trauma of watching me take my last breath, in a loving environment, at the time of my choosing. Kevin