The issue of assisting people to die at the end of their lives will always be controversial. According to the hemlock society euthanasia offers some control and dignity to those who are suffering at the end of their lives. This organization was started many years ago in a garage in California.
Jack Humphrey, the founder, named his organization after a plant, a tincture of which had been used by Socrates to end his life with dignity. The organization of this name no longer exists, although some of its chapters still use the name. Today the term aid-in-dying is preferred to the term assisted-suicide due to the negative connotations associated with suicide.
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.
Legislation continued to lag behind the growing support for aid in dying. Laws were passed, challenged and rescinded. Some managed to survive such as the Death with Dignity one passed in the state of Oregon. This law has passed its 10th anniversary and according to studies, has mostly been used by educated, terminally ill cancer sufferers. There was a fear that it would be used by the disabled, uninsured and poverty stricken but this has not been the case.
The political struggle to have such laws passed resulted in further research. People looked into other ways to achieve dignified death such as the use of helium gas. The law passed in Oregon has now survived for more than ten years and studies have revealed that it has not been used by the disabled, poverty stricken or uninsured, as was originally feared. Well-educated, cancer sufferers have been the ones to make use of it.
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.
This organization continues to work towards making dying an open and legitimate action. They believe in increasing the control of the patient and preventing unwanted intervention at the end of life. They continue to work towards having further legislation passed and ensuring that people have access to all the options to aid them in dying available to them.
Jack Humphrey, the founder, named his organization after a plant, a tincture of which had been used by Socrates to end his life with dignity. The organization of this name no longer exists, although some of its chapters still use the name. Today the term aid-in-dying is preferred to the term assisted-suicide due to the negative connotations associated with suicide.
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.
Legislation continued to lag behind the growing support for aid in dying. Laws were passed, challenged and rescinded. Some managed to survive such as the Death with Dignity one passed in the state of Oregon. This law has passed its 10th anniversary and according to studies, has mostly been used by educated, terminally ill cancer sufferers. There was a fear that it would be used by the disabled, uninsured and poverty stricken but this has not been the case.
The political struggle to have such laws passed resulted in further research. People looked into other ways to achieve dignified death such as the use of helium gas. The law passed in Oregon has now survived for more than ten years and studies have revealed that it has not been used by the disabled, poverty stricken or uninsured, as was originally feared. Well-educated, cancer sufferers have been the ones to make use of it.
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.
This organization continues to work towards making dying an open and legitimate action. They believe in increasing the control of the patient and preventing unwanted intervention at the end of life. They continue to work towards having further legislation passed and ensuring that people have access to all the options to aid them in dying available to them.
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You can visit fenregistration.org for more helpful information about The Hemlock Society Euthanasia And Aid In Dying.
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