Compassion & Choices member Persis Oberreither, by completing an advance directive, inspired her teenage daughter to do the same. Here she tells of the heartbreak – and comfort – of honoring her daughter’s wishes. AMY’S STORY In recognition of National Healthcare Decisions Day, I want to share with you my first-hand knowledge of the incalculable [...]
A study published this month paints a troubling picture. Imagine palliative care doctors, working to deliver the best possible comfort care to their patients. Yet even as they meet the recognized best practices of their profession, their colleagues are judging their covert intentions and moral fiber. Over half of the physicians who responded to the [...]
Eighteen years ago, Dr. Peter Goodwin led the fight to grant Oregonians the right to end-of-life choice. I was honored to work alongside Peter as a co-campaigner and call him a friend. Both as a physician and an advocate, he promoted honesty in facing death. This month he confronted his own approaching death with the [...]
After years of gains and setbacks, the national movement for same-sex marriage is enjoying a period of remarkable success. Massachusetts and Connecticut became first adopters in 2004 and 2005 and that came after twenty years of advocacy. Turmoil followed, especially in California. But in 2009 three states (Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire) approved same-sex marriage. New [...]
Yesterday was the 101st annual International Women’s Day. In some countries this Day holds the same stature as Mother’s Day and celebrates women’s economic, political and social achievements. More or less concurrently, proposals landed in Congress and in states around the nation to excuse insurance plans and religious employers from birth control coverage if they [...]
Over and over we see the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops confuse the right to exercise their religion with a right to impose their religion on Americans who don’t share it. This is not a subtle difference. And, as Bill Moyers points out in the context of their intransigence on access to birth control, the [...]
New Messaging From Politicians Sometimes progress toward human dignity seems agonizingly slow, especially affirming the role of choice at the end of life. So it’s heartening when evidence of seismic change shows up. Last week’s presidential debate lifted our hearts for this reason. Contenders for the Republican nomination were in Tampa, and questioners brought up [...]
In November Dr. Ken Murray published a blog on Zocalo Public Square called “How Doctors Die.” It’s been reverberating through the Web ever since, prompting a continuous stream of comments and inspiring others to offer their own essays and input. What struck a chord was the assertion that doctors with terminal illness often reject the [...]
2011 closed with good news out of Kentucky. On Friday Governor Steve Beshear refused to approve a Louisville hospital merger that threatened patient choice. Compassion & Choices, MergerWatch, the National Women’s Law Center and other national advocacy organizations joined local activists to raise constitutional and public policy questions regarding potential threats to end-of-life and reproductive [...]
Our family will always remember this holiday season as the time Sugar died. Sugar was a mixed breed, mostly lab/border-collie type. She exhibited the best character traits of every gene she carried and seemed to bear none of any breed’s drawbacks. She was a real credit to her species. A member of my daughter’s household, [...]
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