Following the precedent in the U. S. Supreme Court and several state high courts, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in the Kligler case, rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim that assisted suicide is a constitutional right. “Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all end-of-life decisions, after careful consideration, we conclude that the […]
Good news! On Wednesday December 7th, Judge Chabbria of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the Shavelson case, with prejudice. Michelle Uzeta, the DREDF attorney who prepared our excellent Disability Amicus Brief, says this means the case is over at the district court level. NDY previously reported on the […]
DREDF Applauds District Court Decision Dismissing Complaint Seeking To Eliminate Fundamental Protections in California’s End of Life Options Act DREDF applauds the June 22, 2022, decision by federal district court Judge Vince Chhabria to dismiss the complaint in Shavelson v. California Department of Health Care Services, a case that seeks to eliminate the self-administration requirement […]
Disability advocacy organizations NDY, DREDF and United Spinal partnered with the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF) to hold a press briefing on the Shavelson v. CA Department of Health Care Services case heard on April 14 in the federal District Court of Northern California. Video of the press briefing is available on PRAF’s Facebook page […]
DREDF has just announced the filing of a friend-of-the-court (“amicus”) brief in a Massachusetts assisted suicide case. Since 1996, NDY has organized numerous amicus briefs in assisted suicide cases, some of which are posted on our website HERE. DREDF has joined several of these briefs, but this is the first time DREDF has also served […]
[The Disability Visibility Project published this article by Diane Coleman four days ago, highlighting Marilyn Golden’s important work opposing assisted suicide laws.] Marilyn Golden: An Unforgettable Legacy of Wisdom, Dedication, and Results Diane Coleman There’s been an incredible, powerfully moving and profoundly deserved outpouring of love and gratitude for Marilyn Golden since her passing on September 21st. Attending […]
On October 1, 2021, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health held a hearing on An Act relative to end of life options (H. 2381 and S. 1384). We previously featured testimonies this bill to legalize assisted suicide by John B. Kelly, Director of Second Thoughts MA: Disability Rights Advocates against Assisted Suicide and Lindsay […]
September 23, 2021 Via Email leg.unit@gov.ca.gov The Honorable Gavin Newsom Governor of the State of California State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: Urging Veto of SB 380 Dear Governor Newsom: The purpose of this letter is to urge you to veto SB 380. If signed, SB 380 would eliminate critical protections contained in California’s End […]
California’s assisted suicide expansion bill, SB 380, was on the Assembly Appropriations Committee docket today, with written testimony to be submitted prior to the hearing. DREDF’s Senior Policy Analyst Marilyn Golden submitted the following testimony. August 14, 2021 OPPOSE SB 380 (Eggman) – End of Life The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) opposes […]
[This op-ed appeared in the May 13, 2021 edition of Capitol Weekly.] Keep the safeguards in California’s ‘End-of-Life’ law BY MARILYN GOLDEN POSTED 05.13.2021 Assisted suicide is already legal in California through the so-called End-of-Life Option Act, narrowly passed by the California Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Brown in 2015. The bill was opposed by […]
