Youssef Cohen was forced to choose between dying a painful and difficult death at home, or leaving the city he loved so much to move to a state where aid in dying is authorized.
Youssef, a former NYU professor, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012. Though he fought the cancer for years with aggressive chemotherapy and painful surgeries, Youssef eventually ran out of medical options. And because New York has yet to authorize medical aid in dying, he did not have the option of ending his life painlessly.
One week after creating this video, Youssef and his wife moved to Oregon to take advantage of its aid-in-dying law. Less than a week later he died peacefully, and though he did not avail himself of life-ending medication, he was comforted to be in a state where it’s not illegal to obtain it.
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