[EDITOR’S NOTE: While I am taking some time off, Huck DeVenzio, Editor of FEN’s Newsletter, has given his permission to reprint on FEN’s blog some salient articles from past issues of the newsletter. They have been lightly edited and/or updated.]
From the FEN Newsletter, Winter 2018
By John Abraham, Thanatologist
While we hope you never need our exit services, this is to inform you about what to expect if you do, in fact, consider hastening your death. Most people, even in states with Physician-Aid-in-Dying laws, wherein one must be terminally ill, do not elect to hasten death but are immensely comforted by knowing they have that option if their suffering becomes too unbearable. As you probably know, one does not need to be terminally ill to qualify for our exit support, and most chose to do so because of various existential suffering, not just physical pain.
Our services in such cases is our primary reason for being. That is, our provision of Guides: people who can be with you for a compassionate presence and to provide information about how to obtain a quick, certain, and peaceful/painless death. The Guides are highly trained and infinitely compassionate. I cannot strongly enough recommend using our guides if you do decide on deliberate life completion. This service is available to all, not just FEN members, at no cost (except for your buying from commercial sources the necessary equipment – about $300-$400). For those who do, here is the process:
Usually the procedure takes about six to eight weeks from the time you call to the time you exit, although it might be expedited in severe cases.
Call our toll-free number 866-654-9156 and explain your desire. Someone with FEN will call you back within 48 hours.
FEN will want to know about your predicament and ask you to submit some medical records indicating that you have a debilitating condition in order for you to be screened for qualification by our Medical Evaluation Committee (MEC).
If you are approved by the MEC for Guide services, you will be told how to secure the items needed to hasten your own death (inert gas, regulator, flow meter, tubing, hood), which can be ordered on line or by phone and delivered to your door.
After you have the provisions, the Guides will make an initial visit to get acquainted, further assess your predicament and your living situation, and provide much more information. Much more!
Then, when you determine an exit date, they will visit again to be with you for emotional support and to provide guidance to make sure you use the equipment properly. They may not procure nor manipulate the equipment–you must be able to do so. While we never encourage anyone to hasten their death, still you don’t want to lose the “window of opportunity” wherein you are still mentally competent and physically able to manipulate the equipment.
This does not commit you to anything: you can always change your mind, and your approval is good for a year or more. If one does decide not to exit after having received two or more Guide visits, the process starts all over again.
We avoid saying we “help” or “assist.” We support and guide.
Some people enact this kind of death overtly, others covertly. Overtly means that the equipment remains in place and your cause of death is perfectly clear, maybe leaving a copy of the book Final Exit or my book How To Get The Death You Want by your side along with a letter briefly explaining why you did this, that it was a clear, consistent, and rational choice, and that no one helped you. Covertly means that someone else removes the equipment (which our Guides might do in some cases) and the cause is unknown (usually determined to be an underlying condition). Unless someone is in hospice care, there is usually a police inquiry when one dies at home to rule out any foul play. If the cause is clear, and you have specified that you do not want to have an autopsy, there probably will not be one, but that is ultimately up to the medical examiner.
For further information just call FEN and ask about these services and see the “Exit Guide Services” at our web site: http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/Exit-Guide-Services.html.
If you are not approved by FEN and are still committed to an early departure, similar information is available on the internet or by purchasing The Peaceful Pill Handbook.
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John Abraham is the author of “How To Get The Death You Want — A Practical and Moral Guide” (2017, Upper Access Press) and on Amazon
Contact: JohnWithFEN@earthlink.net
Web site: www.DeathAndDyingHelp.com
Thanks for this excellent article! I have been a member of FEN for a number of years but still had concerns and lack of understanding about exactly how the process would work. This helped a lot.
I wish it were possible to get FEN assistance whenever I might choose, by my own criteria, such as an unacceptable level of dependency that I choose not to accept.
I have one question. Is it possible to have family members present during my exit (which I still hope to be a long time from now)? Would they be at legal risk?
I have access to the internet just long enough to respond to your questions. I encourage you to apply for services. FEN’s Medical Evaluation Committee (MEC) uses criteria different from those of RTD state laws. Some people are approved and wait a year or two before they are ready to exit. When they exit (or not) is always their decision. Family members may attend your voluntarily-controlled death. They are usually not in danger of legal violations if they follow the advice of Exit Guides.