Now is certainly time for all compassionate Arizonians to step up to the plate and lobby local and state lawmakers to pass Death with Dignity legislation. Do not confuse this with assisted suicide or euthanasia because in appropriate legislation a competent, severely ill person judged to have a very short time in which to live will be assisted in obtaining the means for a quick, painless and merciful death to be self-administered before unbearable suffering. This is a blessing for both the person’s loved ones, and for the medical establishment.

There are several groups serving the greater Tucson area that are working for Death with Dignity (including the national group of the same name, as well as Compassion and Choices, Final Exit and so forth). These groups have been successful enacting laws in New Mexico, Montana, Vermont, Washington and Oregon. All these groups have websites with more information is available. But without the power of the people here in Arizona we face a legislature that has not proven itself to be humanistic & progressive. So people, let your voices be heard & contact your reps by phone, email, etc. Let your life be in your hands. That is true freedom.

—Freyda Zell

This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.

4 replies on “Letter to the Editor”

  1. “Not proven itself to be progressive?”

    You state that as though it were a virtue rather than the scurge that it is.

    But I guess you have gotten drugs and abortion legalized.

  2. I’m afraid I don’t understand the distinction Freyda asserts between death with dignity on the one hand and euthanasia and assisted suicide on the other. I do see a real difference between euthanasia, in which I kill you, and assisted suicide, in which I provide you with the means of killing yourself. But death with dignity? The description given by the letter writer seems to differ in no way from that of assisted suicide. As for euthanasia, it’s homicide as an act of kindness. And in the words of the writer, death with dignity is assistance “in obtaining the means for a quick, painless and merciful death to be self-administered before unbearable suffering. THIS IS A BLESSING FOR BOTH THE PERSON’S LOVED ONES, AND FOR THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT.” This person is not ready for that kind of blessing, either as the recipient or as the victim. Might we not give palliative care and hospice have a chance?

  3. As a woman in my 70’s , I would hate to see any laws to bless me like that ! At first it may be a choice , then quickly spiral into an obligation , then into no choice , just saying……..a little law…..

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