I agree Gail. I remember when when WA passed the Death with Dignity Act, i.e. assisted-suicide, I was contacted by a reporter who wanted my option as a ventilator dependent quadriplegic and assumed I was against it.The reporter said a person in my condition might be pressured to using it. I replied that I was in favor of the Act. I think people should have the right to decide. Also pointed out that the Act as signed into law in Washington state would never apply to me in my condition. For one, you must be suffering from a terminal disease and have less than six months to live, which I am not. If I did ever end up suffering from a terminal disease, I don't meet one of the other provisions that the patient must self-administer the medication, which I am unable to do.
The reporter never replied to me. On Thu, Jun 2, 2016 at 8:12 PM, Gail Overton <[email protected]> wrote: > The decision to live is a personal one, and humans should not be > criminalized for committing suicide if they choose. Everyone has different > levels of disability and deals with them differently. In the wild, injured > wolves are shunned by the pack. Humans say they are different, but should > they be? Not everyone has a great support system and living can be more > painful than dying in many cases. The right to death should be judged no > more than the right to life. > > > > *From:* Lori Michaelson [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Thursday, June 02, 2016 5:53 PM > *To:* Ben Mattlin; quad-list > *Subject:* Re: [QUAD-L] quad movie-You Before Me > > > > The movie Whose Life Is It Anyway? [opened December 1981] starring Richard > Dreyfuss is another movie. I watched it several years ago and still have > it. Plot below: > > > > *Whose Life Is It Anyway? *is a 1981 film adapted by Brian Clark > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fBrian_Clark_(writer)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=TcHGHD6oeoe90EtVSM6IhUhF%2b04FCRxfsQQx64TuId8%3d> > and Reginald Rose > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fReginald_Rose&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=k9ED%2fcdu%2fNXuguHHfQLVOiHoVYRKSEkxqiRq2WSOmgE%3d> > from > a 1972 television movie and Clark's play of the same title. The film is > directed by John Badham > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fJohn_Badham&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=Li83lLIkaQcYFZc7JMZGP0JoD83Gim5GzTSWw41rTzY%3d> > and > stars Richard Dreyfuss > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fRichard_Dreyfuss&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=A1%2bE93ccoPvThjeOJNslbbuvAWI9bEj%2fmxxi2iY9dyg%3d> > . > Plot > > After a car accident, sculptor Ken Harrison becomes a quadriplegic > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fQuadriplegia&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=htoXlO8S45Tx%2br2QR0%2bS35oy6WtoJCobRwW893eDl2E%3d> > who > sues for the right to end his life > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fEuthanasia&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=w5qwwD0hS%2fWtZur077kBlTtZmNQYX0Dav%2fVcgVCV144%3d>, > no longer able to create art, make love or have any semblance of a normal > existence. He hires a lawyer (Bob Balaban > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fBob_Balaban&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=sm%2fOMCjj2QQwoF3QNYWZICmpi%2bkkYjcKSJurL%2fO7rnc%3d>) > who, reluctantly at first, represents Harrison while knowing that he is > trying to win his client a death sentence > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fDeath_sentence&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=APDjzTYIx9ff4id34EA%2fDJe%2bPVDsHAb2Z87T3cvYNR0%3d> > . > > Staunchly opposed to euthanasia is a by-the-book hospital administrator (John > Cassavetes > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fJohn_Cassavetes&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=7Qk%2fn8FLE4itZSCUWC3ZnHWISqIgujLGlytI345N54Q%3d>), > who is determined to keep his patient alive even against his wishes, and > sympathetic doctor (Christine Lahti > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fChristine_Lahti&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=MXcr%2bJ7GaJlcyDveQKBIajV3ao3gr0XG7M3QEf6GMQk%3d>), > who develops personal feelings for Harrison. She wants to keep him alive, > even though Harrison's girlfriend has accepted his decision. > > A young orderly (Thomas Carter > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fThomas_Carter_(director)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=MSkzINIibFGfKQM8Q4nTHSAQ3psH40Yhzs3KUTsOLLU%3d>) > and nurse (Kaki Hunter > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fKaki_Hunter&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=BrC%2fDB7V%2bWnMo%2fuqX8iMt7%2bDQl8uW7kY%2baN2BFvw6bo%3d>) > do what they can to keep Harrison's spirits up, even wheeling him to a > hospital basement where they treat him to reggae music and marijuana. In > the end, though, it is up to a judge (Kenneth McMillan > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fKenneth_McMillan_(actor)&data=01%7c01%7cGailO%40Pennwell.com%7c856a8779866f4c95097608d38b4976ff%7c5bbf75da8a3f493c8343e6cd0cb0e070%7c1&sdata=Ch6pWJz4ezvzXZgriTz1UzDPbNdJlsHh%2bgpbC0HCRCU%3d>) > whether the patient has a moral, ethical and legal right to choose to die. >
