I defy anybody to say that they could see a loved one suffering in excruciating pain with no hope of recovery, and believe that extending their last days of suffering would have anything to do with the "dignity" of life.
The fact is when this happens nobody talks about ending their life, but the pain meds are upped in an attempt to give them relief, often hastening the end. This happens all the time.
Palliative care has nothing to do with "extending" their last days of suffering. Paliative care is care directed to relief of symptoms sothe patient can live out his natural last days comfortably.
Moreover, there is no medical reason for any terminal patient to die in pain. Pain management is avilable, and it is effective. This is the 21st century.
(A doctor I knew even 25 years ago said, "I have never seen intractable pain; though I have seen instractable doctors and nurses.")
"The fact is when this happens nobody talks about ending their life, but the pain meds are upped in an attempt to give them relief, often hastening the end. This happens all the time."
If the pain meds are upped in an attempt to give them relief, there is nothing wrong with that --- even if it does shorten the time they have left. It does happen all the time. As I said, there's nothing wrong with that. Legally, morally and practically, that's not euthanasia.