(Rusty Martin, a 66-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, spent 24 years working as a communications director for Iowa Senate Democrats until difficulty managing tasks led him to retire in 2022.
Editor’s note: Rusty Martin died August 18, 2026, by taking medication prescribed by a doctor to end his life. This article is used with permission and originally appeared in the Des Moines Register.)
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I am writing this in Zurich, Switzerland, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
I do not want to be in a hotel room thousands of miles away. I want to be at my home in Des Moines.
I wish I was walking the streets I know so well.
I wish I was biking the trails I’ve biked dozens of times.
I wish I was sitting at our dining room table, playing yet another game of cribbage with my wife.
I wish I could look over at my cat, sitting by the window, waiting for me to take a nap with her.
I have Alzheimer’s, a terrible disease that is destroying my mind. To find a peaceful, dignified death, Iowa’s laws have forced me to leave my home.
The Iowa lawmakers who refuse to approve a right to die in Iowa are wrong, wrong, wrong.
How I respond to this terrible fatal disease is not their decision to make. It is my decision, period.
They have no business sticking their noses into this deeply, deeply personal matter.
They do not know better than me. In fact, they plainly do not understand my situation at all.
Instead of respecting the wishes of people in situations like mine, they impose their own religious beliefs on us.
I do not share those religious beliefs. That is my right as a US citizen. Iowa politicians are denying all of us the right to choose a dignified death at home.
It is an outrage, and this morning, I am outraged.
If you aren’t outraged, can I ask what the heck are you thinking?
Are you thinking you will never die?
Are you certain your own death will be one in which you are surrounded by family and friends, gathered around you, tenderly reminiscing on all the good times you have shared?
I truly do wish that sort of death for you, but it is far from guaranteed.
It is certainly not the sort of death that many, many Iowans experience, especially if they die from Alzheimer’s.
When it comes to making public policy, we must always be grounded in the real world, end of story.
Continuing to ignore the pain and loss of dignity found at many Iowa deathbeds is shameful, and it must be addressed.
Until our laws change, you and your families are also at risk of an unhappy, undignified death.
Iowans, demand the right to make decisions about your death, and the power to carry them out in an orderly, dignified manner.
Don’t settle for anything less for yourself and those you love.
On November 3, vote for candidates who believe each of us has the right to the most dignified, peaceful death possible.
Rusty Martin
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Final Exit Network (FEN) is a network of dedicated professionals and caring, trained volunteers who support mentally competent adults as they navigate their end-of-life journey. Established in 2004, FEN seeks to educate qualified individuals in practical, peaceful ways to end their lives, offer a compassionate bedside presence and defend a person’s right to choose. For more information, go to www.finalexitnetwork.org.
Payments and donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Final Exit Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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Last few sentences speak to us all as we enter the current election season…and every election cycle. Our lives – and deaths – depend on it.
I feel Rusty’s frustration in making a personal decision that should be his alone, even if family members or friends do not agree. We should have autonomy over our own body and life. It is a sad situation that states that offer MAID do not consider dementia or Alzheimers a terminal illness, even though it is. But doesn’t meet the guidelines of a physician declaring a 6 month timeline for death. But both are a debilitating, progessive illness that causes great suffering to the individual. I had to watch and endure my father’s decline as dementia took over his mind and health. He begged God to “take me now, through tears of pain”. Even though Rusty was not able to die peacefully at his home in Iowa, he did have the Switzerland option which saved him from enduring the rest of his life trapped in a mental prison possibly for years.
Thank you to Rusty, a real human being.