NDY, DREDF and United Spinal Discuss Shavelson Euthanasia Case at Press Briefing

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 HERE. PRAF’s Press Advisory regarding the briefing is below.

San Francisco, CA – Thursday, April 14th, 2 PM PDT, the Patients’ Rights Action Fund partnered with local attorneys and disability rights activists to host a virtual news conference discussing the Shavelson v. CA Department of Health Care Services case (Shavelson). Shavelson challenges the requirement in California’s “End of Life Options Act” that patients who choose assisted suicide self-administer the lethal drugs.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (The Court) held a hearing on Thursday, April 14th at 10 am PDT on a motion to dismiss. The virtual press conference features legal and professional opinions, as well as personal testimonies from those whose lives have been or would be endangered by assisted suicide legislation.

WHO:

• Diane Coleman: President, CEO, Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights group which she founded in 1996 to give voice to disability rights opposition to legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia.

• Jim Weisman: President, CEP, United Spinal Association is a dedicated advocate for over 38 years who helped expand disability rights and ensure access to transportation for wheelchair users in New York City and across the country.

• Claudia Center: Legal Director, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), a national, nonprofit law and policy center led by people with disabilities dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil and human rights of disabled people.

• Anita Cameron: Director of Minority Outreach, Not Dead Yet, disability rights activist for nearly 40 years. Member ADAPT.

• Matt Vallière: Executive Director of Patients’ Rights Action Fund hosts.

WHAT:

News conference discussing Shavelson “End of Life Options Act.”

By ending the self-administration requirement in the Act, the Courts would establish, for the first time in the U.S., legal euthanasia, a practice that even most groups who support assisted suicide oppose.