Boomers Push Doctor-Assisted Dying in End-of-Life Revolt - Bloomberg
"Claudia Burzichelli doesn’t want to die like her dad. Nine years ago, her father, already afflicted with Parkinson’s, killed himself with a gunshot to the head days after his release from a hospital where he had been treated for a heart attack. Burzichelli, 54, now suffering from kidney and lung cancer, is haunted by her father’s violent death, even more so as she contemplates her own mortality. She hopes to find a more peaceful way to end her life, if it comes to that.
"On those days when I’ve struggled to breathe, when I think about the stresses on my family, I would hope that I might have more options than starving myself or taking my life in a violent way,” she told a panel of New Jersey lawmakers during a hearing in February on a bill to legalize assisted dying. “It comforts me to think there could be a process, a way to offer options that would not hurt my family.”
To me, the control of the "when, where and how" of one's exit when faced with a terminal illness is critical. I know that choice is not what everyone would want, but it is important for the option to exist. I hope the country will soon come to the understanding and acceptance of that choice, instead of forcing people to take the very inhumane way of shooting or hanging oneself, or jumping out of the window. I am glad that there are efforts made to address and bring about the choice.
"Claudia Burzichelli doesn’t want to die like her dad. Nine years ago, her father, already afflicted with Parkinson’s, killed himself with a gunshot to the head days after his release from a hospital where he had been treated for a heart attack. Burzichelli, 54, now suffering from kidney and lung cancer, is haunted by her father’s violent death, even more so as she contemplates her own mortality. She hopes to find a more peaceful way to end her life, if it comes to that.
"On those days when I’ve struggled to breathe, when I think about the stresses on my family, I would hope that I might have more options than starving myself or taking my life in a violent way,” she told a panel of New Jersey lawmakers during a hearing in February on a bill to legalize assisted dying. “It comforts me to think there could be a process, a way to offer options that would not hurt my family.”
To me, the control of the "when, where and how" of one's exit when faced with a terminal illness is critical. I know that choice is not what everyone would want, but it is important for the option to exist. I hope the country will soon come to the understanding and acceptance of that choice, instead of forcing people to take the very inhumane way of shooting or hanging oneself, or jumping out of the window. I am glad that there are efforts made to address and bring about the choice.