This type of question has no clear "yes" or "no" answer. I suspect most people will tell you that it depends on the situation. For example, if a person has made a request not to have their life prolonged by articificial means and that person's family respects those wishes, if a doctor or a panel of medical experts has agreed that the end of life is near and there is no chance of a recovery, once that patient stops drinking liquids, they will usually die within a few days, and usually this is relatively peaceful.
But if a patient is conscious and requesting liquids, they should not be withheld unless for some reason the intake of liquids would further endanger the patient. One example I can think of is if the patient has a fistula (a hole which has developed but should not be there, as in the case of a cancerous growth) between the trachea (breathing tube) and the esophagus (swallowing tube), if the patient swallows liquid it could go into the lungs, thereby in effect drowning the patient. In this case, of course liquids should be withheld.
As you can see, there are many different situations requiring individualized decisions on the part of patient, medical staff and family which have to be taken into consideration.
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