“Starvation deaths are very unpleasant.”
If I may append a brutal fact, such deaths are from dehydration, not starvation.
Such deaths are far from free of suffering, but I will spare fellow FReepers the details.
Death by dehydration is easy to spot on the patient charts - look for the NPO which medicalese for Non Per Orem which is nothing by mouth. NPO and no IV for any length of time can only result in dehydration.
Why we approve this form of torture/death instead of allowing a drug to induce a painless death is something I have not understood.
Perhaps others might have more data?
If the person is dying, why do you have to induce death at all?
A dying person needs comfort-care, hygiene, and effective pain management --- and more than anything, needs loving presence: an accompanying person who is alert to even their feeble reactions, and responsive to their needs, including the need for the sound of a familiar voice, and the need for touch.
Neither starvation/dehydration nor deliberate morphine overdosing (under the guise of "terminal sedation") can provide for a dying person's real needs. A loving person can. A terminally ill person will die soon enough. There's no "need" to grease the skids and give a hearty shove with an implacable "Adios."