Two pieces of good news!
Thursday night June 12 is our Drinks with a Doula where I’ll be talking with Jade Walker of The End Files about all things life and death and dying. And maybe chocolate.
It’s free, and we do gratefully accept donations to help us keep our work going. You can buy us coffees here or Paypal us (teejford@hotmail.com). We appreciate any and all donations!
Second piece of good news!
New York has finally legalized Medical Aid in Dying!
All we need now is for the governor to sign it into law, and then New Yorkers will have the right to end their life on their own terms.
New York joins 11 other states that allow us to end our life if we’re terminally ill.
I’ve talked about it before in this newsletter, so you probably know my feelings about this have always been very strong.
I believe humans should have autonomy over ALL their medical choices. It’s one of the four basic tenets of bioethics.
(Not to keep you in suspense: the others are nonmaleficence - do no harm; benificence - do good; and justice - even the playing field).
Medical Aid in Dying is NOT A REQUIREMENT! It’s simply another option, and it’s one that I will likely take advantage of if I’m ever in that situation. (Then again, many people change their minds once they get the medication, and that’s perfectly fine too.)
If you don’t believe that it’s right to end your life when you’ve got less than 6 months to live, then you don’t have to.
No one has to.
And I will never judge you for that.
As a death doula, my job is to support you in whatever ways I can. Not my job to convince you of ANYTHING.
As always, I’m happy to keep the conversation going about this, so don’t be shy.
See you tomorrow night!
Looking forward to our chat!