I have to say that the use of the phrase “pulling the plug,” is troubling to me.
While I know some use that terminology when suggesting that someone be removed from medical intervention, I would think here at WS we would be more sensitive to the victim and use more appropriate terminology.
When faced with difficult decisions regarding my own loved one this phrase was never used when physicians communicated with us our loved one's medical condition.
It is also inaccurate according to our experience. There was no "unplugging" in our experience. No one walked over to a wall and unplugged anything. As has been described on this thread, when medical support is withdrawn, it is a sequence of events that honors the loved ones and allows for a natural death.
I think that sometimes the words we use are very powerful and lead to misconceptions to what actually happens. In our case it was stressed that we were not making the decisions that caused death but were instead relieving suffering and considering what the patient would wish in this situation.