VOA: In US, Growing Push for ‘Aid in Dying’ for Terminally Ill

NEW YORK—Sara Myers was diagnosed four years ago with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a paralyzing, always fatal neurodegenerative disease.

“At the time I was told three to five years life expectancy. I am traveling down this road, not at a fast pace, but not at a slow pace either,” Myers, 60, said recently in her New York apartment, where she is confined to a wheelchair. “I am losing my ability to breathe, and I am opting not to go for a tracheotomy or ventilator.”  …

…“This is really about a patient’s choice to determine how he or she is going to die. It’s not a question of whether a patient is going to die, it’s a question of how they’re going to do it, and who’s going to make that decision” said David Leven, executive director of End of Life Choices New York, another plaintiff in the suit brought by the Disability Rights Legal Center….

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