Remembering John Radcliffe

Aug 13, 2020 john radcliffe

Our friend and champion, John Radcliffe, died Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer.

John was a tireless advocate for medical aid in dying in Hawai`i. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2014, he dedicated his final years to getting the Our Care, Our Choice Act passed. The day it went into effect, January 1, 2019, he publicly became the first in Hawai`i to request a prescription for medical aid in dying under the new law. Once he finally obtained his prescription, he didn’t stop there. Seeing first-hand how cumbersome the process could be, he continued working to ensure that all Hawai`i residents have meaningful access to the Our Care, Our Choice Act.

I hope you will join us in gratitude, not just for his life and work, but for the fact that John was able to use his medical-aid-in-dying prescription to end his life’s story on his own terms, just as he had wanted: peacefully in his own bed, in the company of close family and lifelong friends. Because of him, all terminally ill Hawai`i residents now have this compassionate end-of-life option, should they choose it.