assisted suicide

For some with disabilities, the pandemic raised fears that they couldn't get medical care they need. Now, groups are saying California's assisted suicide law also devalues their lives, and they have filed a lawsuit.

Disability groups claim California's assisted suicide law discriminates against them

6:08pm April 27, 2023

by Joseph Shapiro

A California law allows a terminally ill person to end their life, but some people with disabilities say they're at risk of being coerced into seeking the medications needed for assisted suicide.

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Amy Bloom and Brian Ameche married in 2007. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019.

After an Alzheimer's diagnosis, her husband asked for help to die with dignity

1:20pm March 08, 2022

by Terry Gross

Novelist Amy Bloom talks about how, at her husband's insistence, she traveled with him to Zurich so he could legally terminate his life. Her new memoir is In Love.

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Court Upholds Ruling Against California's Assisted Suicide Law

1:50am May 24, 2018

by Scott Neuman

The decision lets stand a lower court ruling that the state's 2015 law allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to the terminally ill was passed unconstitutionally.

Dan Diaz holds a photo of his late wife, Brittany Maynard, taken on their wedding day, during a rally calling for California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign right-to-die legislation at the Capitol in Sacramento in 2015.

Judge Overturns Assisted Suicide Law In California

11:40am May 16, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Judge Daniel Ottolia ruled that the California Legislature was hasty in passing the 2015 law, but he put the decision on hold for five days to give the state time to file an emergency appeal.

Adox and Michaeli with their son, Orion, in the winter of 2015.

A Dying Man's Wish To Donate His Organs Gets Complicated

6:36am December 26, 2016

by Karen Shakerdge

Dying in America doesn't always go the way we plan. One terminally ill man's hope to be disconnected from his respirator and donate his organs was almost thwarted, despite his best laid plans.

4 States Opt To Raise Minimum Wage; 7 Loosen Marijuana Laws

11:06am November 09, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

California and Washington passed stricter gun control measures, Nebraska and Oklahoma both passed measures backing the death penalty, and Colorado became the sixth state to legalize assisted suicide.

Matt Larson, shortly after his brain surgery, with his wife Kelly. Larson says he would like the option to end his life rather than face a painful death.

Colorado Wrestles With Ethics Of Aid-In-Dying As Vote Looms

3:56pm October 11, 2016

by John Daley

Colorado is the latest state to consider legalizing aid in dying. Residents find themselves struggling with whether assisted death is an act of mercy or a moral slippery slope.

Lonny Shavelson has studied America's experiments with aid in dying. He's now helping patients and doctors in California come to grips with the state's new law.

This Doctor Wants To Help California Figure Out Aid-In-Dying

8:27am June 11, 2016

by Lisa Aliferis

It's now legal for doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients who want them. But many doctors say they feel queasy about it. Lonny Shavelson wants to help them with that.

Canada's Government Introduces Bill To Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide

3:11pm April 14, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The long-awaited legislation is limited to people with serious and incurable medical issues, and would require multiple evaluations and a 15-day waiting period. It's several steps from becoming law.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has been the focus of a congressional investigation into high drug prices. .

Drug Company Jacks Up Cost Of Aid-In-Dying Medication

4:57pm March 23, 2016

by April Dembosky

Seconal used to cost less than $200 a bottle. After Valeant Pharmaceuticals bought the medication, the cost rose to $3,000. Advocates for aid in dying say that's a burden for the terminally ill.