The Father . . . a film to spark a movement ???
By Anne M. Haule, Hemlock Society Member and VolunteerRecently I went to a movie theater and saw my first movie in over 14 months of pandemic. It was so exciting to be in an actual theater again instead watching films…
Being Patient: Alzheimer’s
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…
Addendum to Advance Health Care Instructions v 8 (addresses cognitive impairment)
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…
Dutch doctor acquitted in landmark euthanasia case
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…
When “do no harm” is no longer textbook
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…
My Time To Die: Nick Ferrari Follows Dementia Patient To Swiss Clinic
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.
Preparing for Dementia and Avoiding Medically Futile Care
Still Alice
The story of a young professor who develops early onset Alzheimer's. What would you do? How would your family react? What if you could no longer keep your job? Would you try to take your life? How? How can you…
Force-Feeding: Cruel at Guantánamo, but O.K. for Our Parents
By Haider Javed Warraich, New York Times Nov. 24, 2015 Many late-stage dementia patients develop difficulties in swallowing and frequently aspirate food or other stomach contents into their lungs, developing pneumonia. "Study after study, however, has shown that tube feeding…
Dead at noon: Gillian Bennett’s last wish was to get people talking about a taboo topic
By Denise Ryan, Vancouver Sun Gillian Bennett's final words on her personal website make a passionate case for physician-assisted suicide. On Monday morning shortly before noon, Gillian Bennett dragged a foam mattress from her home on Bowen Island to one…
Sorrows of Dementia Don’t Get Easier Over Time
By Logan Jenkins, Union Tribune, Aug 5, 2014. And Response by Faye Girsh, Ed.D., President of the Hemlock Society of San Diego The first column I ever wrote for money was about my grandmother slipping away in the back bedroom…
What Broke My Father’s Heart
By Katy Butler, New York Times Magazine, June 18, 2010 This article was an influential article and prompted two excellent books by Katy Butler, Knocking on Heaven's Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, 2013 and The Art…