"¶ ¶" "This week on "Vice":" "The heated debate surrounding the right to die." "Assisting in the taking of a human life is against everything physicians stand for." "When they are sitting in this chair, then they can make their own decision." "We're about an hour and 15 minutes from when she's gonna end her life." "(theme music playing)" "(gunshot)" "(crowd chanting)" "¶ ¶" "So, how long have you lived here?" "In this house, 50 years." "In my big house, uh, 35." "Okay." "In the same village." "So, what was here before?" "Here was a table." "Yeah." "But tomorrow I lay here in my coffin." "Yeah, tomorrow this is the space?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Okay." "So the table must go away." "You want a coffee?" "Yeah, I would love some coffee." "Okay." "Thank you." "Milk, sugar?" "Uh, milk." "Little milk." "Little milk." "Okay." "Yeah." "Are you nervous at all?" "No." "No?" "No." "No." "It's all the people who come around and have tears and cry, and that's difficult, to say goodbye to everyone." "Yeah." "And that's what I wear." "It's special because I made it myself." "Yeah, beautiful." "It's on my card to send around..." "I died." "Do you want to see the photo?" "Where I wear it?" "Yeah, sure." "So, we have to go here." "Feel so strong here, so, yeah." "So glad, so..." "This come over my case, my coffin." "So, first, you are-- how do you call it in English?" "A caterpillar?" "Yeah." "And then it's the road you have to go." "And this are the nice flowers, but there are always stones." "The ugly stones." "So, it's about my life." "When does someone become the butterfly?" "When you die." "When you die?" "Yeah." "I worked in a hospice, so I've seen many dead people." "You can always see that the soul go out." "They are happy." "Really happy." "Nothing matter anymore." "Gandhi:" "In2002,theNetherlands becamethefirstcountry tolegalizeeuthanasia." "Sincethen,morethan 37,000peoplehere haveendedtheirlives witha doctor'sassistance." "Butherein theUS,  assistedsuicidehas alwaysbeencontroversial andforyearswas associated withthepolarizing Dr.JackKevorkian." "Kevorkian:" "When there's a suffering human out there, begging for help and the doctors say, "We can't help you,"" "and they walk away, you think I'm gonna turn away?" "Never." "Gandhi:" "Todaythepracticeislegal inonlyfivestates, butmorestatesbegan toconsiderlegalizing assistedsuicide whenthemovement gota newface:" "BrittanyMaynard." "Brittany:" "Iknowthatit'sthere whenI needit ." "I plan to be surrounded by my immediate family, which is my husband, and my mother, and my step-father." "And I will die upstairs, in my bedroom that I share with my husband." "Gandhi:" "Ultimately, Maynardwasable to end her life as she wished." "But her high-profile story served as a reminder that in most states Americans don't have that right." "She said her goal was to begin a national conversation about how we handle the end of life." "Gandhi:" "Shortly after Maynard's death," "ChristinaSymonds movedtoOregon soshecouldhave thesamechoice." "ChristinasuffersfromALS , adegenerativedisease thatcausesparalysis, respiratoryfailure, andis100%fatal." "When did you start thinking about the right to die?" "Or having aided death?" "Gandhi:" "So, how old is everyone?" "I'm eight." "You're eight." "What's your name?" "Emmerson." "Ferguson, I'm five." "Ferguson's five." "Ten." "Ten." "Hudson." "His name is Hudson." "Gandhi:" "Christina'shusband,Teddy, aformerpoliceman, retiredearly sothatthefamilycould makethemovetoOregon beforeChristina'sdisease becametoodisabling." "Gandhi:" "What does Teddy think about your right to choose, and even the idea of it?" "What do the kids know about what's going on?" "Do they know everything, or they don't know?" "They don't know." "They know something is obviously different, but they don't know the full scale." "Yeah." "Because, I mean," "I'm 45 years old." "I can barely think about it and handle" "You know what I mean?" "Which is why we live the way we live." "You know, getting out of the moment of thinking, and about what's potentially ahead of us." "(Teddy speaking)" "(Christina speaking)" "(Teddy speaks) (Christina speaking)" "(Christina speaking)" "Teddy:" "Christina,absolutely, ismybestfriend." "And my number one." "So..." "I get it." "She doesn't want to sit back and be taken care of, and be wiped, and be fed." "She wants to go, "I'm done." ""It's not getting any better," ""whatever was gonna work ain't working anymore," ""and this is where I draw the line."" "And if you have that ability, it's power." "And it's..." "It's a calmness and a security like-- like nothing else." "Gandhi:" "That'sa senseof security thatmostdyingAmericans aren'tgrantedby their respectivestates." "SoI wentto meetaman who'sbeenhelping manyofthem takematters intotheirownhands." "We're way out in the woods in Oregon." "I'm here to meet Derek Humphry, who is the author of "Final Exit."" "He gets calls every day from people who want to kill themselves." "¶ ¶" "I was reading about your career." "You started off as a journalist." "Humphry:" "Yeah, I was a journalist for 35 years." "What were you writing about?" "Mainly I wrote about race relations, immigration, police corruption, things like that." "I was always an advocacy journalist." "So, when this subject came upon me," "I got more and more involved in it." "Gandhi:" "Humphrystarted theHemlockSociety, whichlaidthegroundwork forOregon'ssuccessful RighttoDiecampaign, andhe'swritten twobestsellingbooks onthesubject." "This was the one that got me into it." "This is the account of my wife's death." "She was dying of breast cancer, and one day, when she was very, very ill, she said to me, "Help me to die."" "And I thought for a moment, and then I said," ""All right, I will."" "Gandhi:" "Humphryfound asympatheticdoctor andprocured thelife-endingdrugs thatarenowthe standard methodusedin Oregon." "Hewenton to write theultimatehow-toguide fortheterminallyill who  wanttohastentheirdeath," ""FinalExit."" "This book is a book full of love, in a way." "It's 25 years old, still sells every day." "Gandhi:" "Butit'snotjust abookof love." "It gives in-depth instructions on different ways you can kill yourself." "Onepopularmethoduses itemsyoucanfindinyour localpartystore." "This is helium, or you can use nitrogen." "(gas hissing)" "It's kind of a cooling effect." "If you pulled that down and tightened it, you would be dead within five minutes." "It's not aesthetic, you know, a plastic bag, but if you can't get any other way to, um..." "to die, and you wish to die desperately, then this is as good as any." "And thousands of people have used it." "Do you see this as your calling?" "This?" "No." "I would scrap this and I would scrap my book when everybody has lawful access to a doctor-assisted death." "Gandhi:" "In Arizona, oneofthe45states whereassistedsuicide isillegal, wemetHowardGlick." "Hesuffersfromarare  braindisordercalled frontotemporaldegeneration, orFTD." "Ashisbraindeteriorates," "Howardisrapidly losinghismemory andcognitiveabilities andwilleventually requireconstantcare." "When they diagnosed you, what did you find out about the disease?" "So they diagnosed me, and I thought there was a cure, when they first mentioned it, I was happy." "And I was also happy because I'd just attempted suicide." "I mean, every-- My life was in such chaos, and I'd lost everything, and now I could, like, rebuild." "But then I found out, there's no cure." "No medicine, nothing." "Nothing." "Incurable, untreatable, unstoppable." "Next step: death." "What do I want to do?" "Waste away in a wheelchair, not even recognizing my children?" "Never mind the cost involved." "I don't want my children to suffer." "I contacted Final Exit, and you know, a lot of people from my support group," "I found out from them." "And they say quick and painless is helium, and you breathe it in a few times with a turkey roaster and you're dead." "Gandhi:" "AndHowardis notalone." "Hissupportgroupisfilled withpeoplewhohave thesamedisease, andmanyof themare seeking thesameend." "I'm tired of fighting a disease that I know I'm not gonna beat." "And I want to have dignity when I die." "People will say with a pet who is no longer living a full life, it's cruel to let that animal suffer." "Aren't I more important than an animal?" "If I don't want to suffer anymore, why do I have to?" "Gandhi:" "Butthisis justone support group,onedisease." "There are thousands of patients across the country givingmorepower tothemovement." "Andthisgrassrootsenergy transformedintoaction inthemostpopulous stateinthecountry." "Woman:" "Good afternoon, and welcome everyone." "We are here today to announce the introduction of our bill" "SB 128, The End of Life Option Act." "I am a terminally ill cancer patient." "I fully support SB 128, and I beg you to." "Assisting in the taking of a human life is against everything physicians stand for and defiles the reputation and meaning of being a physician." "On behalf of my aunt who was competent and terminally ill and chose to shoot herself to end her suffering," "I support this bill." "Just to remind you, you're not gods." "God is watching and God will judge you." "Gandhi:" "Thebillhadthe support of nearly 70% of Californians, butthepowerful CatholicChurchhelped topersuadelawmakers tostallit  inthelegislature." "Thatoppositionwasled  byNedDolejsi, thechurch'stopstrategist inthestate." "Why is Catholic leadership so opposed to the bill?" "From our faith perspective, there's the reality that God is God and we're not." "Now, that's a Catholic perspective that undergirds how we view life and how we view a question like suicide." "The question for this society right now is a question of public policy." "There's the dynamics of a very, very competitive health-care system, andwhenyou becomea burden,whenyou  needcancertreatment, whenyouneed24-hourcare , theinterestof society inprovidingthose overthecourseoftime  willgoaway." "Thatplacespeoplein averyvulnerablesituation." "And the mentally ill, the disabled, those who are poor, will be the people who are inappropriately steered to, moved in this direction." "Gandhi:" "When we caught up withChristyO'Donnell, apracticingChristian, shehadavery directresponse." "When they are sitting in this chair with a stage IV diagnosis, and a child that they're leaving, or a husband that they love... then they can make their own decision." "But until that happens, they will never know what it's truly like." "Gandhi:" "Withlegislationstalled," "Christyturnedto thecourts towintherighttodie onherownterms." "Judgeafterjudge deniedherrequest." "Gandhi:" "Withonlymonthstolive , Christywasoutofoptions." "I am very hopeful that while it may not be in my lifetime, and it was not in Brittany's lifetime, that it will not continue to occur, because it is an injustice." "I think it is just a matter of time, despite what the headlines were reading a while back." "I guess, don't count us out just yet." "Gandhi:" "Butthen, justfourdayslater, theRightto Diebill wasrevived attheStateHouse." "SB 128 was stalled in the Assembly, here in California, but today, at a press conference, there's gonna be an announcement of a new bill that's addressing end-of-life policies, and it's trying to be pushed through in a special session of the Assembly." "Gandhi:" "Thisspecialsession onhealth-carefinancing broughtthebill beforea newcommittee andallowedthemajority tobypasslawmakers blockingthevote." "The members of this coalition here today will do everything in their power to ensure that this legislature has been responsive not only to the will of an overwhelming number of Californians, but to the people who are counting on us to win the freedom for them" "to approach the end of life in the way that they choose." "Gandhi:" "Thistime,thebillpassed inbothhouses, andonOctober5th , GovernorJerryBrown signeditintolaw , effectively quadrupling the number of Americans with the right to assisted suicide, andthathasthe opposition upinarms." "If you look at what's emerged in Northern Europe, in Belgium and the Netherlands, you don't put it back in the bag." "We're going to find, longitudinally, this will play out, society will have less interest in expending money at the end of life." "The society looses interest because we've offered you your personal choice to take yourself out of this particular moment." "Gandhi:" "Americanopponentshave warnedforyears thatlegalizationwouldlead toa slipperyslope, andthatmightactually behappeningin Belgium andtheNetherlands, where euthanasia is authorized for much more than terminal illnesses." "(speaking foreign language)" "Gandhi:" "Sincehersuffering ispsychological," "Antoinettewouldnotbe eligible for assisted suicide inanyAmericanstate, butintheNetherlands andBelgium, doctorshaveeuthanized patientsfordepression, autism,anorexia,blindness, andpersonalitydisorders." "Dr.TheoBoer, amedicalethicist, usedtoserveon areviewboardfor Dutch euthanasiacases." "He'sconcernedabout someofhisrecentfindings." "In the first years after the euthanasia law in Holland, in 2002, the numbers remained stable and even went down a little bit." "So, in 2007, we concluded that our law had done its job very properly." "However,after2007, thenumberswentup,  withnoapparentreason, by15%eachyear." "Andalsothereasons forpeoplehavingeuthanasia havebecomemuchwider thantheywerein thebeginning." "Wherewillwe endup?" "Will euthanasia become the default way to die for cancer patients?" "Will it become one of the preferred options for patients suffering from long-term psychiatric illnesses?" "(knocking)" "Antoinette:" "Hello." "Come in." "Thank you." "Morning." "Good morning, you look very nice." "Hi." "Hi, how are you?" "Nice to see you." "Hi." "Gandhi:" "SoonafterIarrived, we were joined by two of Antoinette's close friends." "The last years I've seen her gradually losing herself." "And I think that someone has the right to choose her own death, and the way she's going to die." "It's okay." "Yeah." "And I'm just here to support you." "I don't even think today is a hard day." "I think today is a day for celebrate." "Of celebrating." "Yes." "It is." "Finally, we can let you go." "¶ ¶" "Gandhi:" "Whileherfriends supportherdecision," "Antoinette's children object." "(speaking foreign language)" "(speaking foreign language)" "Woman:" "Mydiagnosisof Antoinette is that she suffers from a long-standing, probably life-long personality disorder, which is the basis of her complaints." "I met her three times, intensely, and after the third appointment," "I reached a conclusion." "Gandhi:" "Despitehisreservations, Antoinette'sson ultimatelydecided thathewanted tostopin to saygoodbye." "Buthedidn'twant tobefilmed." "(Antoinette speaking)" "(Antoinette speaks)" "Were you-- Difficult." "Were you surprised just now?" "Oh, yes." "I didn't know he would come." "(speaking foreign language)" "So, the nurse is about to arrive right now." "We're about an hour and 15 minutes out from when she's gonna end her life." "Gandhi:" "Shortly afterwards, Antoinette'sdaughtershowed uptobe withher mother, andrightbehindher  wasDr.Starcke." "(laughing)" "Okay." "Okay." "Bye." "Love you." "(Dr. Starcke speaking)" "She gave the moment, "Okay, let's do it."" "She was still joyful, happy." "She chose her moment, and she got her moment." "Gandhi:" "Do you think this is a new perspective on how dying can work?" "Fons:" "We should consider as humanity that we give more options in future." "Because when your life is over, whether it's physically or psychologically, you have the right, I think, to take control of your own life and death." "And I think we have seen here a great example of how it can be done." "¶ ¶" "Gandhi:" "Assistedsuicidelaws intheUnitedStates arestilltightlyrestricted tospecificterminalcases." "Butasmorestateslook  tolegalizethepractice, andmillionsof babyboomers begintoconsider end-of-lifedecisions, thedebateis  onlyintensifying, andwhatremainsunclear isjusthowfar these newlawswillgo." "¶ ¶" "¶ ¶"