(Janis Landis’ professional career was spent at the Internal Revenue Service. Upon retirement, she turned her attention to the only topic less popular than taxes: death. Janis served as President of Final Exit Network from 2015 until June 2019 and continues to serve on the Board of Directors.)
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If you’ve been a frequent visitor to the Good Death Society Blog, or just stopping by for the first time, thank you.
This blog covers a wide range of topics related to dying and death. But you may not know that the blog is brought to you by Final Exit Network (FEN). We are a nonprofit organization that provides information and services relating to end-of-life choices.
Our website provides comprehensive articles about our Exit Guide Services, documents for completing Advance Directives, plus a wide variety of additional resources. Our members also have access to our Chosen Death Forums, workshops, and other events.
We are constantly updating and expanding our website. For example, we add new books and videos to our resources section as well as personal stories from our members.
We have also added a new page on choosing a Healthcare Representative (HCR). This choice may be the most important decision you make regarding your medical care. If you are incapacitated, your HCR must align with your wishes and be a forceful advocate for them.
Here’s our opening paragraph:
Healthcare Representatives
Your healthcare representative and your backup representative are the people you appoint to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself. This could be a short-term situation, such as temporary unconsciousness or being under anesthesia, or it could be long-term, such as the loss of competence due to dementia. Different US states use different terminology for describing a healthcare representative, such as healthcare power of attorney (POA), agent, surrogate, or proxy, but the basic idea is the same.
To read more on this topic as well as our many other subjects, please visit our website.
Please consider becoming a member. All our services, including Exit Guides, are free. We rely on members to keep these services available and free of charge.
Be here for us now, so we can be there for you later.
(Please scroll down to comment.)
Final Exit Network (FEN) is a network of dedicated professionals and caring, trained volunteers who support mentally competent adults as they navigate their end-of-life journey. Established in 2004, FEN seeks to educate qualified individuals in practical, peaceful ways to end their lives, offer a compassionate bedside presence and defend a person’s right to choose. For more information, go to www.finalexitnetwork.org.
Payments and donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Final Exit Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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As much as I appreciate the Medical Aid In Dying movement, I definitely believe there is a place for FEN and the knowledge it offfers. Medical Aid In Dying means the government and the health bureaucracy are involved in my decision making and action. While I think, on the whole, it is better to have Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), than not to have it, it leaves a lot to be desired. Does ending my life, when I decide it is time to do that, become less complicated than with MAID? No. There is still the likelihood that if I have the means to death available to me, I am more likely to use it (Google recent research showing a suicide crisis in veterinary medicine, with veterinarians more likely to commit suicide because they have the means to do it). What happens when I have my regular Seasonal Affective Disorder and I now have the means to end my life? So, I am not suggesting that with the knowledge shared by FEN all these issues go away. Some, not all, of the complexity and inanity of adding a layer of governmental and medical bureaucracy does diminish.
Thanks, Janis! And thanks to FEN for sponsoring such a broad and inclusive range of topics on end-of-life challenges and choices.