My grandma had an incurable brain tumor and was euthanised six years ago. There were some issues with whether her state of mind was good enough to make that decision, so she suffered more than necessary, but everyone was glad she didn't have to go through even more pain.
If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.
Well, it's only going to become a greater issue as people live longer and longer lives but the last years of those lives are progressively worse and more drawn out. Maybe it's simplistic or overly emotional, but what's the point in living in suffering? It's placing a higher value on simply being alive than on living well. I think there's a general sentiment to leave things to unfold as they will, perhaps as "nature" intended and to not interfere. But a hands-off approach to managing life and death is still a chosen way of managing it, and arguably not a terribly good way. You're glad your granny didn't have to suffer unnecessarily. From my own anecdotal experience, we watched my grandfather slowly rot away in a nursing home for the last years of life - physically, that is; he was sharp as a knife until days before passing. I can only look at that and wonder what the point is. Also, did they give her chocolate? I heard they do after they've administered the medicine. Seems like a nice way to end it.
I think a more pronounced sentiment is to squeeze out every extra bit of life, despite the exponentially increasing pain and suffering (and medical cost) that that extra bit entails - life itself being given an almost infinite value. This leads to our loved ones suffering and withering away for days, weeks and sometimes years. The term 'dehumanized' comes to mind - not just to describe this approach to death, but also to describe how people who take this step feel or want to avoid feeling. In the case of my grandma, she lived on increasing doses morphine in a hospital bed that they brought home for a few weeks. She became a shell of a person. After a few weeks the morphine didn't soothe the pain anymore, so the decision was made to carefully OD'ed her on painkillers. Not really standard procedure - she wanted to go earlier, but alas. (So no, I don't know about chocolate.)