As we recently wrote, we attended the announcement on January 21, 2015, of the End of Life Option Act in the California State Capitol. A recording of the 45-minute long press conference is available online. Today we bring you an exclusive summary, including our introduction.
The Announcement of California End of Life Option Act from Death with Dignity National Center.
As language and movements evolve over time, the terms that best capture their essence also grow and change. This holds especially true for the Death with Dignity movement, where terms in common usage fairly recently are now understood to bias the discussion and do a disservice to participants. One such term is “assisted suicide” or “doctor-assisted suicide” or “physician-assisted suicide.” The word “suicide” can understandably trigger terminally ill patients who have not desired that their lives end prematurely, but rather are seeking some measure of control over their inevitable and impending death. Two similar but preferred terms are “physician-assisted death” or “medical aid in dying.”
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