An extremely controversial issue that is receiving much attention is that of assisting terminally ill patients to die. Associated with the hemlock society euthanasia and the right of terminally ill patients to choose death gives control and dignity back into their hands. In 1980, when this organization first began, this concept was foreign and it took many years before it would become accepted by a growing number of individuals.
Derek Humphrey, who had assisted his terminally ill wife in her death, was the founder of this organization. The name was inspired by the fact that Socrates had weighed his options and made a choice to die by ingesting a tincture of the plant. The organization attracted a growing membership and local groups all over the nation began meeting and discussing end-of-life issues.
The organization adopted a multi-pronged approach. An important aspect of their activities was to try and change laws and to do this they became involved in the political arena. However, this proved to be a very slow process. Through the years, more and more attention was attracted to this issue. Jack Kervorkian and his machine, the Mercitron attracted attention worldwide. He eventually crossed the line and videotaped himself giving an ALS patient a lethal injection. The tape was aired on 60 minutes and he was eventually charged with second-degree murder.
The sales of the many books written by Derek Humphrey have helped to fund the organization. He wrote a book called Final Exit in 1991 and it became a best seller. This draw worldwide attention to the concept of self-deliverance with medication for the terminally ill. An account published in the New England Journal by a Rochester physician, Timothy Quill, who had helped a patient to die by giving her barbiturates and telling her how much she needed to use, was a first in a medical journal.
Several countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and more recently, Canada allow physician-assisted death for terminally ill patients. In America, a couple of other states have followed Oregon in passing right-to-die laws but patients must administer their own medications.
Canada legalized physician-assisted suicide in 2015 and joined Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. This is not allowed in America, but five states have have right-to-die laws. These laws require the patient to administer their own medications.
The impact of the original organization has been significant. Over the years they held national conferences, published many books, pamphlets, audio and video tapes and advocated in many different ways for end-of-life choices. It evolved over the years, became End-of-Life Choices and today it is called Compassion and Choices.
The organization is now known as Compassion and Choices and continues to advocate towards the openness and legitimacy of aid in death. They believe the patient should have final control and that all the available options should be presented to them. Working at having further laws passed also continues as many states in America still do not have such legislation in place.
Derek Humphrey, who had assisted his terminally ill wife in her death, was the founder of this organization. The name was inspired by the fact that Socrates had weighed his options and made a choice to die by ingesting a tincture of the plant. The organization attracted a growing membership and local groups all over the nation began meeting and discussing end-of-life issues.
The organization adopted a multi-pronged approach. An important aspect of their activities was to try and change laws and to do this they became involved in the political arena. However, this proved to be a very slow process. Through the years, more and more attention was attracted to this issue. Jack Kervorkian and his machine, the Mercitron attracted attention worldwide. He eventually crossed the line and videotaped himself giving an ALS patient a lethal injection. The tape was aired on 60 minutes and he was eventually charged with second-degree murder.
The sales of the many books written by Derek Humphrey have helped to fund the organization. He wrote a book called Final Exit in 1991 and it became a best seller. This draw worldwide attention to the concept of self-deliverance with medication for the terminally ill. An account published in the New England Journal by a Rochester physician, Timothy Quill, who had helped a patient to die by giving her barbiturates and telling her how much she needed to use, was a first in a medical journal.
Several countries such as Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and more recently, Canada allow physician-assisted death for terminally ill patients. In America, a couple of other states have followed Oregon in passing right-to-die laws but patients must administer their own medications.
Canada legalized physician-assisted suicide in 2015 and joined Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. This is not allowed in America, but five states have have right-to-die laws. These laws require the patient to administer their own medications.
The impact of the original organization has been significant. Over the years they held national conferences, published many books, pamphlets, audio and video tapes and advocated in many different ways for end-of-life choices. It evolved over the years, became End-of-Life Choices and today it is called Compassion and Choices.
The organization is now known as Compassion and Choices and continues to advocate towards the openness and legitimacy of aid in death. They believe the patient should have final control and that all the available options should be presented to them. Working at having further laws passed also continues as many states in America still do not have such legislation in place.
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