On the surface, continued passage of U.S. death-with-dignity laws appears favorable for the RTD cause. But the landscape is littered with potholes, land mines, and detours that raise more questions than the new laws address.
Wondering what to say to people who argue against MAiD? Here’s your cheat sheet.
Bill Palmer shares some reflections and insights as founder of Death Cafe Oakland in California.
Responding to an article in the Duluth (Minnesota) News Tribune, Rev. Edward Holland and Rev. Harlan Limpert of Interfaith Clergy for End-of-Life Options voice their support for Medical Aid in Dying.
Calling all writers! Here’s how to submit a post idea. Also, register for a virtual debate between FEN supporter Thaddeus Pope and John Kelly of Not Dead yet.
Many advocates of the right to die want universal health care, noting that physician-aided death is legal in Canada. What might that mean for FEN?
Words matter. Medical aid in dying (MAID or MAiD) is the term now widely accepted in law and medicine to describe the practice of a physician prescribing medication to a terminally ill, mentally competent, adult patient who may choose to ingest it to end suffering they find unbearable, and achieve a peaceful death. It is accurate language which should be used. Other terminology such as physician aid in dying may also be used, but increasingly there is a preference for the term medical aid in dying.
A Washington state man, Aaron McQ, described his illness (a rare form of ALS) as “terrifying . . . like waking up every morning in quicksand.” He agreed to discuss his experience with Kaiser News to help provide more understanding about how users feel after qualifying for PAD. Over 3,000 terminally ill residents in the US have used PAD laws since Oregon’s first took effect twenty years ago. This is one man’s experience.
Disability rights groups that oppose self-determination for people who seek physician-assisted dying (PAD ) argue that such people should not have the right to decide for themselves when their lives are no longer tenable. Nevertheless, the disability rights groups do make points related to PAD that are worth considering; for one, they have helped me realize that over the last ten years I have become disabled.
