Don’t let end-of-life options bill die again

On April 2, the Massachusetts legislature heard testimony on a bill giving suffering people in the last six months of their lives the legal option of self-administered, doctor-prescribed medicine for a more gentle passing. The fight for this right has been going on for more than a decade on Beacon Hill. It's well past time …

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Support grows for end-of-life medical care option: action needed now

Should we be able to decide the nature of our passing when we are close to the end of our lives? Many people who are terminally ill and suffering want the legal option of self-administered doctor-prescribed medicine for a peaceful passing. Here in Massachusetts, the battle to give individuals who are terminally ill (in the …

Continue reading Support grows for end-of-life medical care option: action needed now

Controlling our end-of-life medical care

Judy Kugel’s beloved husband, Peter, suffered from advanced Parkinson’s and the residual effects of a stroke,which led him to the point where he could no longer bear to continue. If he had lived in Vermont or Oregon or one of several other states, he could have, while still mentally competent, requested medication that would have …

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Controlling the quality of dying

When it comes down to the last weeks and days of an excruciating dying process, it's all about options.  If I am terminally ill, determined by my physician to be within six months of dying from an incurable and irreversible disease, then I want my physician to be able to prescribe medication that will allow …

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