In the week from December 7 to December 13:
- The public debate about improvements in end-of-life care continued to heat up in California, proving that Death with Dignity laws ultimately improve end-of-life care.
- A work group met for the last time in Maryland to discuss the End of Life Option Act, to be introduced in the state legislature next year.
- An appeal has been filed in New York to the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the state’s law against assisted suicide.
- Our friend Nora Miller’s story was reprinted at The Death Writer blog.
- Utah State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck announced she is working on a new Death with Dignity bill, to be introduced in the 2016 session. Meanwhile, a new poll shows that 58 percent of Utahns support physician-assisted dying.
- Harper’s Magazine ran a long feature about our late friend, Dr. Peter Rasmussen; the Statesman Journal ran the final installment in a series of articles on Dr. Rasmussen.
California
- “Aid-In-Dying Law Comes To California,” KPBS, 12/9/2015
- “Hospice care isn’t enough for all the dying,” Sacramento Bee, 12/9/2015
- “California assisted death advocates urge quicker implementation (video),” Sacramento Bee, 12/10/2015
- “Op-Ed: ‘I have terminal cancer. And I’m dying in a yearish.'” Los Angeles Times, 12/13/2015
Maryland
- “‘Death with Dignity’ to resurface with new name,” Baltimore Sun, 12/8/2015
- “Advocates and opponents of “Death with Dignity” prepare for legislative fight,” WHAG, 12/8/2015
- “Maryland legislative panel weighs End of Life Option Act,” Washington Post, 12/8/2015
Utah
- “Right-to-die law will get another chance in Utah,” KUTV-CBS, 12/10/2015
- “Poll: Majority of Utahns Support ‘Right-to-Die’ Legislation,” UtahPolicy.com, 12/10/2015
Elsewhere
- Arizona: “Public support grows for right-to-die,” Arizona Sonora News, 12/10/2015
- Massachusetts: An interview with our friend Deborah Dempesy on WERS. “How One Family Is Coming To Terms With Physician Assisted Suicide,” WERS – You Are Here, 12/1/2015
- New York: “Assisted suicide battle heads to NY appeals court,” Democrat & Chronicle, 12/8/2015
Other Stories
- “Death is perhaps the greatest mystery we face, and the actual act of dying is the last physical act of our lives. We can strive to do it our way and to do it well. If anything deserves preparation, or some renewed clarity, death might be it. Which is why I suggest throwing a lively party.” Read more in “Prichett: He didn’t die with dignity (so I threw a party),” East Oregonian, 12/8/2015
- “I believe that if we provide accessible, high-quality palliative care focused on meeting medical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs, physician-assisted death will remain an option of last resort for our patients here in California…. [T]here will be those very rare cases for whom palliative care at the end of life will not be sufficient. I acknowledge this, even as I strive to meet the needs and alleviate of the suffering of all my patients with the help of my palliative care team. And for all of my patients, I do sincerely hope that this new end-of-life option affords them some peace of mind. “A Palliative Care Fellow’s Perspective on Physician-Assisted Death,” GeriPal Blog, 12/10/2015
- “Rasmussen began as an ambivalent defender of the law, but the more he made the case for a patient’s right to die, the more he believed in it.” A lovely, long read about our late friend Dr. Peter Rasmussen. “When I Die: An end-of-life doctor faces his own end,” Harper’s Magazine, January 2016
- “A Life Well Ended,” Statesman Journal, 12/12/2015.
Featured image by Elena.
No comments.