Ohio End of Life Options has received its first Grant!

The Hubbard Family Foundation has generously given $1000 as seed money to support the group’s efforts in educational outreach about death with dignity style laws.
Rick and Annie Hubbard said, “We believe that mentally fully functioning adults should have at their disposal the complete range of options to complete their lives with the same sense of pride and dignity that they lived it. The development of hospice care, advance care directives and health care proxies have improved all of our abilities to continue to live and die in ways that are most comfortable to ourselves. Development of Death with Dignity laws will further enhance our abilities to complete each of our lives in our way. We are very proud and pleased to be able to support Ohio End of Life Options.” Please join the Hubbards in supporting Ohio End of Life Options’ efforts by donating today!

The Mayo Clinic’s 26th Annual National Hematology/Oncology Review Course. 
The organizer, Dr. Gerardo Colon-Otero, included a section called Controversies in End of Life Care and invited Lisa Vigil Schattinger to share her family’s experience with Oregon’s Death with Dignity law. July 19, 2016

Ohio End of Life Options believes that Ohioans should have the option provided by Death with Dignity laws. Since Oregon’s law went into effect in 1998, and Washington’s law went into effect in 2008, data collected on those who have used this option shows that less than 1% of the deaths during this time frame were of people using the medication made available through these laws. This is a small and unique segment of the population.  Vermont has had a  law since 2013 and California’s law went into effect June 9, 2016.
Those who use this law are:

* Mentally capable people who are terminally ill and fall under the parameters of the law.

* They choose to go through the approximate 3 week process of orally requesting the medication from their primary care physician (twice, separated by 15 days).

* They have with a consulting physician who corroborates the terminal diagnosis as well as the time frame of 6 months or less to live.

* They make a third, written request that is witnessed by 2 people (one of whom is completely unrelated and not able to benefit from the patient’s activities) and then wait 48 hours after the written request to receive the medication.

*They are capable of self-ingesting the medication. No one may give it to them (this is considered euthanasia and is not allowed under the law).

Data shows that about a third of the people receiving the medication never use it. It’s been found that just having the medication gives people comfort in a sense of control.

Ohio End of Life Options believes that education and discussion about these laws has to happen in Ohio for people to understand and work toward legislation like this. Communities over all, as well as medical and political groups need to understand these laws and the valuable evidence showing that they are used according to the parameters defined and that abuse and coercion have not occurred.