The Good Death Society Blog

Sep 15

0

Options near the end of life–Exploring Parkinson’s

By Lamar Hankins | End-of-life care | 4 Comments

My wife and I had occasion to visit some old friends in California recently. We have known one member of the couple since 1962, when we started college together. We last saw them almost three years ago and have stayed in touch through email and phone calls. David has Parkinson’s Disease (PD), so we knew that we would likely find him in worse shape than the last time we saw him, when his main symptom was a slight tremor in his hands and a shuffling gait when he walked. Lois had given us reports that he was working on therapies to counter the effects of the Parkinson’s.

Sep 09

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Strategy for a Care Giver’s Survival

By Lew Lorton | End-of-life care | No Comments

For the last several years of his wife Jackie’s fatal illness–Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD)–Lew Lorton was her caregiver and maintained a blog he titled “Just A Guy Muddling Through” about his experiences and thoughts. In this post, he explains some guidelines he developed to help himself through the experience.

Sep 01

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BOOK REVIEW: “What happens When We Die?”

By Diane N. Diamond | Dying | 7 Comments

When a young child in our life experiences the death of the beloved family pet or a grandparent who has always been there to spoil him/her, we want to give comfort and solace, but how do we do that without painting mythical pictures of angels floating on clouds with harp in hand? Becker’s book, “What happens When We Die?,” helps with that.

Aug 25

4

Death and the Atheist

By Seth Andrews | Death With Dignity Act, Dying, Suffering and Death | 3 Comments

Seth Andrews–The Thinking Atheist–discusses death and end-of-life issues from his perspective.

Aug 18

2

Alternate Endings

By Lamar Hankins | Choice, Dying, Medical Aid in Dying | One Comment

A review of the new HBO documentary “Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America,” 67 minutes in length, which began airing on August 14.

Aug 11

1

North Carolina already may be a physician aid-in-dying state

By Lamar Hankins | Medical Aid in Dying | One Comment

Kathryn L. Tucker, the founder and director of the End of Life Liberty Project has concluded that physicians in North Carolina can provide assistance in dying (AID) to their mentally competent terminally ill patients who request it, subject to the prevailing standard of care, without risk of a viable criminal prosecution or medical practice disciplinary action.

Aug 04

1

Huntington’s Disease and a self-controlled death

By Lamar Hankins | The Right to Die | 2 Comments

This post describes the disease that killed Woody Guthrie–Huntington’s Disease–and provides the story of a man who struggled with the disease until he could bear it no longer.

Jul 28

2

A Self-Deliverance in California

By Jim Van Buskirk | Final Exit Network | 3 Comments

Jim Van Buskirk relates a poignant experience that led to his joining the Final Exit Network.

Jul 21

1

Why FEN should support the Disability Integration Act

By Lamar Hankins | Death With Dignity Act, Disability, Disability Rights, The Right to Die | 2 Comments

You may not have heard of the Disability Integration Act of 2019, but it is worth the support of the Final Exit Network (FEN) and the individual support of all people who favor a self-controlled death

Jul 14

3

A non-medical model for a self-controlled death?

By Lamar Hankins | Final Exit Network, Right-to-Die Laws, The Right to Die | 5 Comments

In a newly-produced short film, Philip Nitschke argues for a non-medical model to replace the medical model for a self-controlled death. His argument is compelling. If we have a right to a self-controlled death, we should not have to ask permission from doctors to honor that right. As he has said, “You don’t have to be a doctor to understand dying.”