(photo at right: eight disability activists in front of hotel, holding signs and surrounding bright red banner that reads: NOT DEAD YET – We Want to Live!)
Last Saturday, June 6, the Final Exit Network held its annual meeting at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Schiller Park, IL, near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
Nine disability activists gave up their Saturday, sitting and standing in the chilly drizzle that day. Our numbers were down for 3 major reasons:
- There wasn’t much advance warning for the protest, due to fairly short notice regarding the meeting itself;
- Many disability activists were at the conference of NCIL – National Council on Independent Living, in Washington, D.C.;
- Paratransit rides are difficult to get on weekends and the location was a little out of the way.
The numbers were more than enough to do what we set out to do – give a “reality check” to the “assisted suicide ring” aka Final Exit Network (FEN).
Flyer for the event below, but first, some points of interest and some thanks:
- Both Derek Humphry and Faye Girsh came out to talk and gawk. Humphry is the founder of the Hemlock Society. Girsh is a former director of the Hemlock Society and was the subject of a prior blog post. Both are members of the Advisory Board of the Final Exit Network;
- Current FEN president Jerry Dincin came out and said our flyer was full of lies, but didn’t specify a single one;
- Bob Levine, who has posted a comment here, talked to us as he was leaving – odd, since the meeting was just beginning when he departed. Probably some interesting internal politics there. He practically ran away when asked if he wanted to comment on Jan Van Voorhis, a woman in Arizona who allegedly died with the “help” of FEN. Van Voorhis had no serious physical health issues, but a long history with depression and other emotional issues.
It was pretty clear that they did not expect anyone to show up from outside – these folks somehow believe that email lists are actually private. No press showed up – it’s hard to get Chicago media to come to a protest in a large city like that – and it looks like FEN hadn’t done any press work of its own.
Before going to the flyer, Diane Coleman and I want to thank Horacio Esparza, Larry Biondi, Mark Karner, Sam Knight, Clark Craig, Sophia Craig and George Terzakis for all of their help and support. All of these folks are associated with Progress Center for Independent Living, which was NDY’s home base until last July, when we moved to Rochester, NY.
Pictures of the action can be seen on my public facebook photo album. All of the pictures of the protest that are up right now were taken by George Terzakis. Several of the pictures I will add tomorrow were taken by him as well.
Without further ado, here is the flyer we handed out in front of the hotel before and during FEN’s meeting:
Final Exit Network: Myths vs. Reality
Due to a fairly extensive amount of print and broadcast coverage of the group, most people might think they have a good idea of what the Final Exit Network (FEN) does, who it “helps,” how it helps, and where they are active. Unfortunately, due to a lot of sloppy reportage and some outright lying by some FEN members and supporters, much of what people “know” about FEN falls into the category of mythology.
MYTH: The Final Exit Network only “assists” the suicides of people who are terminally ill.
REALITY: That’s an easy mistake to make. Time erroneously reported that FEN’s eligibility was limited to “terminally ill” people. Founding president Earl Wettstein made the claim in an op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star. In fact, it’s shown up in a lot of the reporting. That myth breaks down under even casual inspection. John Celmer, whose suspicious death sparked an investigation into FEN, was reported to be cancer-free in the coroner’s report. Arrests have been made in the death of Jan Van Voorhis, a woman with minor physical ailments but a long history of psychiatric issues. In fact, you don’t have to take our word for this at all. Under the “Who we serve” section of its website, FEN lists a number of nonterminal conditions that would make a person “eligible” the group’s “assistance. Just to make sure nothing is left to doubt, the site adds:
Others who are facing protracted, losing battles with cancer, stroke, congestive heart failure, emphysema and other incurable conditions yearn for dignified withdrawal rather than clinging desperately to every breath.
Many of these individuals are not being served. Final Exit Network will serve these and many others like them.MYTH: FEN “Exit Guides” only provide “counseling,” not “assistance.”
REALITY: That is exactly what some of the spokespersons for Final Exit Network are claiming now. However, legal authorities charge that part of the group’s assistance entails cleaning up the site of an allege suicide to make it look like a natural death. More, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) claims that, during the sting operation it used with FEN, the agent posing as a cancer victim was told that the “exit guide” would hold his hands down after the helium-filled bag went over his head. FEN claims that this is to prevent flailing movements from accidentally dislodging the bag and aborting the suicide. They are amazingly confident that this has never somehow crossed the line from “assistance” or “counseling” to homicide – by preventing the removal of the bag by a person who had changed his or her mind.
MYTH: Those that FEN “helps” are carefully screened.
REALITY: The GBI agent in the sting operation that sparked the multi-state investigation posed as a cancer patient. He says that FEN never asked for his medical records. John Celmer, of Georgia, was cancer-free at death. Jan Van Voorhis, an alleged recipient of FEN “help,” had no serious medical problems at all.
MYTH: If every state had assisted suicide laws similar to those in Washington state or Oregon, there would be no “need” for the Final Exit Network.
REALITY: That claim is certainly being circulated far and wide. Timothy Quill of the Death with Dignity National Center has made that claim. So has Barbara Coombs Lee, Executive Director of Compassion & Choices. Even FEN members have advanced the claim. Earl Wettstein (Arizona) and John Fanning (Colorado) made the claim that cancer-free John Celmer wouldn’t have “needed” FEN if he’d lived in Oregon – claims made in separate but strikingly similar op-eds. Claims like this are a lie. And the best source of verification is the FEN press release issued on November 5, 2008, celebrating the passage of I-1000, which legalized assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill in Washington State. Excerpt:
Although, like Oregon’s “Death with Dignity Act,” I-1000 gives doctors the authority to prescribe a lethal dose of medications to terminally ill individuals under strict controls, it condemns to continued suffering as many as 40% of those who desperately want to end their life because of intolerable suffering but cannot under the law because their illness is not diagnosed as “terminal”.
“Unfortunately,” said Goodwin, “many patients do not meet I-1000’s strict criteria. Individuals with neurological illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and Alzheimer’s disease often lose the reason and will to live long before their disease qualifies as ‘terminal’.” Goodwin adds, “For these individuals, neither I-1000 nor the Oregon law go far enough. “That is why Final Exit Network pledges, until laws protect the right of every adult to a peaceful, dignified death, Final Exit Network will be there to support those who need relief from their suffering today!”
“The Network’s Exit Guide Program is available nationwide,” Goodwin said. “With the Network’s compassionate guidance and support, physically and mentally competent adults in all fifty states are free to exercise their last human right — the right to a peaceful, dignified death. “Final Exit Network is the only organization in the United States that will support individuals who are not “terminally ill” – 6 months or less to live – to hasten their deaths. No other organization in the US makes this commitment,” said Goodwin.
Please note – that statement says very clearly that they will help, anyone, anywhere who “needs” their help – including Washington State and Oregon.
WHY WE CARE: People with disabilities are faced with multiple hardships in our society. Discrimination in education and employment lead to wide-scale impoverishment. The multitude of physical and attitudinal barriers that still prevent full inclusion of people with disabilities into the life of society leaves many isolated and in despair. This despair is remediable – calling for time, money and resources – to help people out of the ditch. People with disabilities deserve the same suicide prevention as everybody else. Assisted suicide, giving people a shove when they look into the abyss, takes no time, money or effort at all – and it’s the final abandonment, the ultimate discrimination.
Thanks again to everyone who made this happen! We are grateful to all of you. –Stephen Drake