The Right To Die

The California legislation is modeled after the Death With Dignity law passed by Oregon voters in 1994, which made that state the first in the nation to allow some terminally ill patients to choose the time of their own death.

The effort to pass the legislation in California was prompted, in part, by the death last year of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old California woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Maynard moved to Oregon so she could end her own life when the time was right, and became a prominent activist in the "death with dignity" movement through online videos and well-read news articles about her choice.

Under the Oregon law and the California bill, two physicians must see the patient, review the prognosis and agree that the person has an illness that will be fatal in six months, Coombs Lee said.

The doctors also must attest that the patient has no mental illness or mood disorder that impairs judgment, and that the person is not being coerced or forced into the decision, she said. The person must receive counseling about hospice and palliative care, and be told that they are under no obligation to either fill the prescription for the life-ending drugs or to take them.

"The control resides with the patient, from beginning to end," Coombs Lee said.


Do you believe a person has a right to die with dignity if he or she has no chance that their terminal illness can be reversed? I didn't realize there is only four states that allow this - Vermont, Oregon, Washington and now California.

The controls make it ethically & legally sound

I haven't asked permission to live. Why would I ask it to die?

I strongly believe that a person should be able to have control when it comes to their rights in dieing if they are struck with a debilitating and painful terminal illness. My heart really went out to Brittany Maynard. I can't imagine not having that right. What kind of a world do we live in?

You can't tell me some doctors haven't been helping death along in some cases but we just don't hear about it, and bless them for it.

@CarolKing i don't know about the usa, but in my country it seems that a religious minority is being allowed to make these decisions for everyone else. If religious people are anti-euthanasia then good luck to them, but it sickens me that the rest of us are prevented from having this choice. I believe that euthanasia should be a legal option for those who are very ill - nobody is suggesting that it become compulsory so i don't see why religious people are butting their noses into other people's lives and forcing them to die horrible deaths.

Also, my mother is a doctor, and, yes, the pain med needs of some patients overlaps with what is a fatal dose. She has been quite open about this over the years...

CarolKing said:

... Do you believe a person has a right to die with dignity if he or she has no chance that their terminal illness can be reversed? ...

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I absolutely do believe and am glad it is now allowed here. Just wish it had happened in time to help my brother. He finally died in January, 2014, after tremendous suffering with two failed liver transplants. Couldn't catch a break...couldn't tolerate the anti-rejection meds and none of his ethical, respected doctors at Cedars-Sinai here in L.A. did a damned thing but make it more difficult as the end grew closer.

TeeJay1952 said:

... Why would I ask it to die?

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There comes a point when some very ill folks need help to die humanely with medical assistance.

And not to mention dieing with dignity with less suffering. This is entirely up to each individual to decide. It needs to be made available for everyone though.

There are many many many cases in which patients are missed diagnosed by conflict of interest white coat wearing drug peddlers and many more improperly diagnosed on purpose all on the name of money .... Errrr I meant cancer.

If it's what the person wants to believe then it's their decision. So long as others are not footing the bill I have no problem with it.

We don't require much when it comes to a right to breed so why so we require much when it becomes time to die? While I agree there will be cases of abuse and cause for concern at times I am talking about the vast number of cases. Specifics considerations can be addressed in light of existing regulations and local sensitivities.

Nov 1 will make it 3 years since my wife died. Throat cancer. She could not eat (liquid only) last year. Was down to 68 lbs. Hospice was called and the first thing they did was give us an "Emergency Kit" that contained 6 or 7 meds to hold you till nurse could arrive. One of them was Morphine. I was told to be very careful when administrating. Very careful indeed. It never occurred to me to that ending an excruciating personal ordeal should be put to vote. I never had to do anything as she just stopped drinking water and slipped into a coma and passed.

"All you can hope for in life, is a 'good' death."

That's what my father's consultant said to me after his lung cancer diagnosis, and the look in her eye told me she had seen a few 'bad' ones.

The Marie Curie nurse who stayed with us for Dads last two nights made sure he didn't suffer because of the large amount of morphine he administered.

We thanked that guy a lot.

I asked him how many people he 'helped' a week and he said 4 or 5.

When my Grandma had colon cancer that spread everywhere, the hospital sent her home to die with a hospice care giver. She was on the morphine drip and she started seeing puppies on the ceiling and delusions of being kidnapped to the point where she got out of bed and broke her hip. The pain she must have been in and her screams still haunt me when I think about it.

She was in/out of comas for months and we were at that point, we thought.

Then one day she woke up, sat up in bed and wanted to eat REAL food and she was actually mentally there like her old self.. She spent the day holding my sister's newborn and saying goodbye. She passed in her sleep later that night.

That said, I say people should have right to do what they want, if not hurting others..

Choice is better than no choice, every time.

Thank you for sharing these loving stories with our community regarding your loved ones.

This would just give a person options regarding the last days of their lives. This wouldn't be something that would be considered if someone was still in good health. God forbid someone doing this and there be a mistake in their diagnosis. This would be a comfort allowing a person to pass on with less pain.

Through the late '80s and the '90s here where I live if you were part of the AIDS community it was a given and understood that if you went under Hospice care and were put on a external morphine pump you where only going to be sucking air for a few more days, had friends that gave in and went this route who didn't seem near as ill as myself and many others who are still alive and kicking. Always thought that the unspoken reason for going under this type of care was to die soon and with dignity and not to prolong suffering.


For years I had my collection of Barbiturates for when I lost all hope, flushed 'em 8 or so years ago.

Still I believe removing the stigma/feelings that those who you leave behind deal with if you just commit suicide is the biggest benefit of giving you a Legal right to die, as I see it most people that would qualify under the new Cali law would have presence of mind to be able to save up their meds and write a DNR order for when they're ready, making it legal is only to make it all easier on those you leave behind.

How can it be humane to put a beloved pet 'to sleep' when the suffering becomes too great but not give the same consideration to a human if it is their wish AND they are terminal AND they are suffering greatly?

I've encountered suicide twice. In one case it was not planned well and in another it was planned well. In both cases it was a release for the person committing the act and a horror for the living because in both cases the person was physically in good health.

We are not talking about suicide caused by mental illness - we are talking about ending the physical torture of a person who has a right to end that suffering when there is no possibility of recovery. Completely different than mental anguish based suicide.

Not to make light of the subject but maybe a little comic relief is in order ... Legally I have been assigned the rights to make medical decisions for a family member. As I understand it even with a DNR (do not resuscitate stating that the patient does not want extreme measures used to keep them alive) shit happens and if a patient is put on life support for some reason then they cannot just remove it or turn it off. The person who gave me the right to make these decisions for him said 'If I'm in a coma or unresponsive but I can get an erection don't pull the plug'. I said 'This isn't going to end well'..........

@hishighness I guess they will be coming and going!

I believe terminally ill folks have the right-to-die. For me, I'm hoping to go out on a big stroke or cardiac arrest. And that's my justification for eating eggs and bacon for every meal, washed down with a chocolate milk shake, and a side of fries. BAMM!! "He never knew what hit him...."

My aunt, who is 90, is in great pain on her deathbed. They've managed the pain, and it's just a matter of hours or days. And a baby is born. The Cycle of Life continues....