Kim Callinan of Compassion and Choices writes about the ways the Catholic Church's Ethical and Religious Directives (ERD's) govern what kind of treatment you will receive (or NOT) at Catholic hospitals. Many of these directives influence end-of-life care. The majority…
In an article adapted from the newly-released book "The Inevitable," Dr. Lonny Shavelson, Chairman of the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying talks about his experiences prescribing life-ending drugs to terminally ill people in California and how he…
A daughter's story of her father's decision to end his life when he lost his independence and freedom due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He was facing quadriplegia. Her dad sent her a text message…
January 16 marks Religious Freedom Day. While people’s spiritual beliefs take on heightened meaning at the end of their life, religious freedom at this time is unfortunately an aspiration, not a reality. A Jan. 4 study in the Journal of…
This ecological dystopian thriller film portrays the year 2022. The cumulative effects of overpopulation, pollution and some apparent climate catastrophe have caused severe worldwide shortages of food, water and housing. Government-assisted euthanasia is available on request. Starring: Charlton Heston, Leigh…
This is a wonderful Israeli movie telling a unique, compassionate and surprisingly funny story of a group of folks at a Jerusalem retirement community who decide to help their terminally ill friend end his life. When rumors of their assistance…
Medscape reported on two studies of in-hospital cardiac arrest in Covid patients. In a report from William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, 60 of 1309 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (4.6%) had an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Of these, 54 had documented…
by Rohin Francis, MBBS, Medlife Crisis Modern technology has blurred the lines of life and death to a confusing extent. Heart transplant operations changed the definition of death. The external corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine can keep a person "alive"…
At the end of her training in internal medicine, Dr Puri was doubting the professional choice she had made, questioning if medicine was really what she wanted to do with her life. At the suggestion of a colleague, Dr Puri…
This is a visually stunning film shot in an elegant Goa mansion about a handsome young show man who has become a quadriplegic and his devoted, gorgeous nurse (who dresses exquisitely). His helplessness and total dependence lead him to the…
58 year old Kelly Bone, with early onset Alzheimer's, discusses her plans to go to a clinic for euthanasia. One of the requirements for all of the US medical aid in dying laws is mental capacity; Alzheimer's patients cannot use…
Drew Schlosberg interviews Barry Price, Ph.D., President and Faye Girsh, EdD, Founder, of the Hemlock of Society of San Diego for Spotlight on the Community radio program. They discuss the history of the Hemlock Society of San Diego, the Hemlock…
Hunt Kooiker, MD, MPH, Chair of the Hemlock Society of San Diego's Medical Advisory Committee, appeared on KUSI with Logan Byrnes to discuss end of life directives, particularly important in the time of Covid-19. Click here to view the segment.
This important discussion highlights the ways in which faith-based institutions impose religious value based treatment decisions on doctors and patients. Most often, patients enter faith-based institutions without any idea that the institution is bound by Ethical Rights Directives which can…
Covid-19 can cause Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in which oxygen levels plunge and breathing is impossible without a ventilator. Unless there is an advance directive stating that the patient does not want ventilation, she is heavily sedated and a…
The conference was held in Berkeley, CA on 2/13-15/2020. Some things discussed: Drug protocols Dr. Shavelson, in conjunction with anesthesiologist Carol Parrot, have researched why some people - ‘outliers’ take so long to die. They have developed a list of…
This movie mirrors the dilemma that many fear or face in our current culture. If you shared your decision to have a “peaceful death,” how do you perceive your loved ones would respond? Inspired by the true story of Dr…
Zdogg relates a case of a 69 year old man who was subjected to 90 minutes of high-quality CPR during an ordeal in the hospital where he ultimately could not be saved due to his massive aortic dissection. The patient…
You have the right (in the U.S.): To be fully informed and involved in decisions about your medical care, including end of life care To refuse or withdraw unwanted medical treatment, including food and fluids. This may be difficult to…
94-year old Rosemary Bowen experienced a loss of independence after a spinal compression fracture. She was clear throughout her life and after the compression fracture that once she was unable to care for herself she wanted to end her life.…
A Friends at the End talk by Dr Ellen Wiebe, a Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) provider from Canada. Dr. Wiebe talks about the criteria for physician aid in dying in Canada and tells us about some of her patients,…
Author Terry Pratchett, diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008, visits people with serious disease considering ending their lives on their own terms. He talks with close family members about their feelings. Terry and his assistant visit Dignitas in Switzerland and film…
This video shows a woman with congestive heart failure who chose to die by Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED), or Sterbefasten or Death Fast, as known in Germany. She died at home after 10 days, with round-the-clock care from…
Dr. Ramy Salah, a hospice & palliative care clinical fellow at the University of California, San Francisco discusses end of life issues from an islamic perspective.
"What if the seemingly rational choices you prefer when you're healthy no longer make sense to you when you're actually confronting death?" This poignant story is told by the husband of a nurse. Throughout her life this nurse, Stephanie, was…
You may consider adding wording similar to the below to your advance directive ( you DO have one, right ?) if you are concerned about being kept alive with severe cognitive impairment. I am not afraid of death, which will…
Frank Langella plays a retired doctor who is unwilling to endure further treatment for a hopeless heart condition. But when he announces his intention to travel from New York to Oregon to seek legal approval to end his life comfortably,…
The issue of advance directives for dementia is a hot topic in the right to die field. In the US there is little legal guidance on this issue. Ethicists argue whether it is ethical to honor these documents once a…
Opponents of assisted dying often use as an argument that assisted dying is not necessary because good quality palliative care can alleviate suffering at end of life. This report from England concludes that 17 people a day suffer at the…
"The more people engage and understand death and know where it's heading ... the better prepared the person is to be able to let go to the process, and the better prepared the family is to reconcile with it, for…
Judith Graham | Kevin Md, Conditions | August 13, 2019 This article talks about: "....a common complaint: Surgeons don’t help older adults and their families understand the impact of surgery in terms people can understand, even though older patients face…
Cancer is the #1 diagnosis for those taking advantage of medical (or physician) aid in dying. This could be simply because the prognosis (to achieve the required six months or less to live) is more predictable than other diseases. This…
by Thaddeus Mason Pope, J.D. The Asco Post, June 25, 2018 Attorney and law professor Thad Pope discusses the fact that Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) is legally more accessible to terminally ill patients than Medical or Physician Aid…
The 2019 Annual Report is now out For 2018 337 California individuals died from ingestion of aid-in-dying drugs, a rate of 12.6 per 10,000 deaths based on 268,4743 deaths to California residents in 2018. 23 of those received their prescriptions…
by Jim Demaine, Md, KevinMD.com, July 7, 2019 A call came about noon a few years ago that a patient I’ll call Stella was being admitted once again. She had come into the ER from her nursing home to receive…
Leading Britain's Conversation - July 2, 2019 Every 8 days a briton travels abroad for help to die. An interview with an early onset Alzheimer's patient and his plans to go to a Swiss clinic to end his life.
Philip Nitschke makes the point that it is an illusion that patients have choice in Medical Aid in Dying. It is the doctor who decides and no one else. The right the patient has is simply to ask the doctor…
ZDoggMD talks with emergency room physician Dr. Fred Mirarchi about misconceptions healthcare providers often have about living wills/POLSTS. Both doctors make a distinction between witnessed and unwitnessed cardiac arrests.
Melissa Bailey, Kaiser Health News June 18, 2019 The latest miracle machine in modern medicine — whose use has skyrocketed in recent years — is saving people from the brink of death: adults whose lungs have been ravaged by the…
A "guy" way of looking at the end of life. It very nicely portrays the process of using California's End of Life Option Act (EOLOA), how a person who is alone needs a companion to be with , and the…
Many health care institutions have practices and policies which automatically suspend do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders when patients go to the operating room. Read more about DNR during surgery.
By Ryan Warner, Colorado Matters Podcast. May 1, 2019 A Colorado physician talks about medical aid in dying in Colorado. As he notes, you must ask about aid in dying. It is almost universal in the states that allow it…
Endgame is an award-winning documentary following the lives of people contemplating a medically assisted suicide in Switzerland. Tt shows the speed and ease of the intravenous method of medically assisted suicide used at Lifecircle. By controlling a valve, the patient…
Opinion piece by Theresa Brown, hospice nurse. New York Times, April 27, 2019 A hospice nurses argues that lack of time is the main cause of over treatment at end of life. She suggests the development of end-of-life treatment guidelines.…
David Wood, MD, the Chief Medical Officer at Beaumont Health, describes the challenging experience he faced as the surrogate decision maker for his father at the end of life. "It's a casacade." People kept saying "he'll get better." Video: 5.08…
I Accuse is a classic and controversial German film from 1941 about euthanasia, or mercy killing. A doctor admits to administering a fatal overdose to his incurably ill wife and is judged in court — and in the public forum.…
Cardiopulmonary death is the traditional way to declare someone absolutely dead, but about 50 years ago Harvard scientists came up with a new way to be dead - brain dead. Everyone agrees a brain death is death, but not everyone…
by Joanne Faryon inewsource.org A report about the "vent farms" in Coronado, and the helpless people in it. In California, 4,000 men, women and children are being kept alive with machines in special wards in California’s nursing homes. "The default…
by Dheeraj Raina, MD, psychiatrist - Kevin MD - March 27, 2019 A physician explains the good death and the comfort that hospice provided to his young wife and their family as she was dying from cancer. "Two of the…
by MD Brad Stuart, Tracey Danaher, PhDb, Rana Awdish, MD, FCCPc, Leonard Berry, PhDd,e Mayo Clinic Proceedings XXX 2019, 1-9 This article examines how clinicians can help affected families find their way from “focused hope” (which centers on cure) to…
by Dan Ayre - This.org - March 25, 2019 A husband relates the story of his wife's experience with Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in Manitoba, Canada. In Canada, different provinces handle MAID differently. Two things stand out: 1. In…
By Sammy Caiola - capitol pubic radio - January 29, 2018 "Barbara Koenig, head of bioethics at the UC San Francisco, said bureaucracy can sometimes keep patients from exercising choice at life’s end. It’s a timing problem. If their disease…
Excellent overview of how the drug formulas under Death with Dignity Laws came about. by Jennie Dear, The Atlantic, Jan 22, 2019
By Katie Engelhart, The California Sunday Magazine, March 20, 2019 The story of Debra Koosed who was diagnosed with dementia at 65 and applied to end her life through the Final Exit Network (FEN). After a devastating accident years before,…
by Matt Vickers - North & South, March 20, 2019 In Switzerland, providing the means for a person to take their own life is legal if done from non-selfish motives. '“Giving access to assisted dying is, in fact, suicide prevention…
Studies show that most people would want to die at home. BUT — not these two! Why not live it up in the time remaining rather than sit in a nursing home? See how these two award winners solve the…
By Barbara Coombs Lee, February 11, 2019 When Blake Nordstrom, one of the fourth-generation of his family to lead the Nordstrom department store chain, died in January at age 58, the extended family of Nordstrom customers and associates were not…
This video features Dr. Stefanie Green, co-founder and current President of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers (CAMAP). Stefanie is medical advisor to the BC Ministry of Health medical aid in dying oversight committee and moderator of CAMAP's…
BASICS: Make sure those who are involved in your care know your wishes. Document this in your Advance Directive. Appoint someone to speak for you who knows and agrees with your wishes — your Health Care Agent, who can speak…
By John Wilkens – Union Tribune - Jan. 6, 2019 Faye Girsh is interviewed on the occasion of her stepping down from the Presidency of the Hemlock Society of San Diego. She talks about her most important legacy, the Final…
Numerous studies have demonstrated that healthcare surrogates lack knowledge of patients’ preferences. Surrogates struggle with guilt, stress, and doubt when they make decisions without knowledge of their loved ones' wishes. Surrogates should be included in the process of advance care…
U~T San Diego Community Spotlight, U~T San Diego Radio | Mins: 27:57 Drew Schlossberg interviews Faye Girsh, President and Barry Price, Vice-President Hear the Hemlock Society of San Diego program about end of life choices and having a peaceful death.
A life-changing bond develops between a woman (Hilary Swank) with ALS whose marriage is on the rocks and the brash collegian (Emmy Rossum) hired to be her assistant.At what point does this talented woman feel her life is at an…
Sept. 16, 2018 Speaker: Dr. Bob Uslander Dying Wish, the award winning 20-minute documentary was shown. It chronicles the journey of an eighty-year old retired surgeon with end-stage cancer, on hospice, who chooses to stop eating and drinking with the…
KFMB "It's Your Money and Your Life" podcast with Faye Girsh and Dr. Bob Uslander, Integrated MD Care. Faye and Dr. Bob were interviewed by Rick Payne. Listen to the podcast discussing end of life decisions: https://iymoney.com/audio/2018-faye-girsh-bob-uslander.mp3
A POLST form can save you from treatment during a medical emergency; a valid POLST is a medical order. EMTs can legally follow the wishes stated in a valid POLST. A POLST must be signed by a healthcare professional to…
One of director Akira Kurosawa's most famous films, this 1952 masterpiece is about Mr. Watanabe, a man who discovers he has terminal cancer.How he decides to use the time left to him is the question. What would you do?
By Katie Hafner - New York Times. Aug. 10, 2018 "One in six hospital patients in the United States is now treated in a Catholic facility, according to the Catholic Health Association, a membership organization that includes 90 percent of…
By Michelle Faust - laist June 25, 2018 "Dr. David Wallenstein, a palliative care doctor at UCLA Medical Center, said, "my impression is that people who tend to think in terms of aid-in-dying medications probably are people who really need…
This 2004 award-winning film is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro (played by Javier Bardem), who was left quadriplegic after a diving accident, and his 28-year campaign in support of euthanasia and the right to end his life.
By Joseph Pierre, Psychiatrist - in Aeon May 15, 2018 "Indeed, the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals (2013) acknowledges that ‘there is no consensus on when it is appropriate to let [a] life go’, but…
On the 2nd anniversary of the passage of the End of Life Option Act Faye Girsh talks with Kogo's iHeartMedia San Diego about the importance of talking with your family about your end of life wishes. Part 1 Length: 2:31…
Cinema Junkie By Beth Accomando Friday, April 13, 2018 Faye Girsh discusses right to die films and what we can learn from them with Beth Accomando of KPBS. Listen to the podcast about right to die films.
Sponsor: Final Exit Network A Colorado woman with progressive multiple sclerosis turns to Life Circle in Switzerland to end her life with peace and dignity.
Double Feature! Mary Kills People is a serious and highly rated TV program about two doctors who, in their extra time, help suffering people who plead for it, to end their lives. This does not romanticize or minimize the dangers…
Frank Langella plays a retired doctor who is unwilling to endure further treatment for a hopeless heart condition. But when he announces his intention to travel from New York to Oregon to seek legal approval to end his life comfortably,…
In this 1939 film Betty Davis plays a long island socialite/heiress who has a malignant brain tumor.
By Catherine Sonquist Forest - Vox, Sep 21, 2017 "Aid in dying has been legal in California for a year now. Many of my patients have been waiting for this." Read More
A stern hard-liner judge with little mercy has a moral dilemma when his wife is diagnosed with an incurable and painful illness. This 1948 film features Fredric March as the husband/judge.
