People profiled Compassion & Choices advocate Roseana Spangler-Sims, a 72-year-old Californian who used the state’s medical aid-in-dying law after living with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Her family described a final day of laughter, poker, a psilocybin ritual to ease her pain, and mountain views she loved. They shared her story to help normalize end-of-life choice.
Hospice News notes that most people who choose medical aid in dying are hospice patients. Compassion & Choices’ Jessica Empeño, national director of clinical engagement, stressed the need for clinicians to stay informed, saying, “It’s important for hospice clinicians in particular to be aware of what it is and be able to have that conversation.”
Ms. magazine covered a lawsuit filed by Compassion Legal and partners challenging Michigan’s pregnancy-exclusion law, which denies incapacitated pregnant patients the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment. Jess Pezley, senior staff attorney at Compassion Legal, noted, “Our plaintiffs are simply asking for the same rights the Michigan Constitution guarantees all Michiganders.” The suit argues that pregnancy cannot erase a person’s end-of-life autonomy..
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