Trish Parker was a gifted painter, a devoted mother, and a woman determined to shape her own destiny — including the moment when she would leave this world. At 90, with the full support of her family, she traveled to Switzerland to access assisted dying services not available in Ohio. Her story, beautifully captured by the Canton Repository, is one of love, autonomy, and an unwavering commitment to living — and dying — on her own terms.

To be clear, Ohio End of Life Options does not advocate for a law that would allow MAiD for people who are not terminally ill, as Parker was not. Still, her experience highlights the reality that Ohioans, in many cases, are denied the option to exercise control over their final days. Without legal access to MAiD, even those facing certain death in the near term must leave their homes, families and communities to find compassionate options elsewhere.

Quoted in the article, Ohio Options Executive Director Lisa Vigil Schattinger underscores the critical difference between the system Parker accessed in Switzerland and what we advocate for, which is a law modeled on those of Oregon and other U.S. states under which access to MAiD is strictly limited to terminally ill adults with less than six months to live.

Read Parker’s remarkable story and the conversation it sparks about end-of-life choices: “Stark artist wanted to leave this life on her own terms. So she traveled to Switzerland” by Tim Botos in the Canton Repository, Feb. 7, 2025 and in USA Today, Feb. 17, 2025.