USA: Roadside Controversy Looms With "Right to Die" Billboards

Description: [of the article from TIME]

The organization Final Exit Network is putting up billboards to let you know that you have the "right to die."

The controversial non-profit announced plans to put up billboards along highways in California, New Jersey and Florida, promoting what president Jerry Dincin calls "the last civil right of the 21st Century" - euthanasia or assisted suicide.

The billboards, which will feature the slogan "My Life, My Death, My Choice", are reportedly funded in part by volunteer donations to FEN. Euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States, and debate over the issue has remains contentious in and out of medical circles.

According to FEN's website, the group hopes to offer support and information for those who are ill and wrestling with the idea of ending their lives, rather than change any existing legislation. FEN operates on the central belief that all "mentally competent adults have the basic human right to end their lives when they suffer from a fatal or irreversible illness or intractable pain, when their quality of life is personally unacceptable."

[Note: Billboard photo: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/Final-Exit-Network.jpg]

[There are other related stories in the Links section below.]

Links:

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)

  • http://tinyurl.com/2aoqtbe

  • http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/06/16/roadside-controversy-looms-with-right-to-die-billboards/

    Also see:

  • Final Exit Network Right-to-Die Billboards Appear in California, New Jersey and Florida [PRNewswire]
    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/final-exit-network-right-to-die-billboards-appear-in-california-new-jersey-and-florida-96460489.html
    Today Final Exit Network began the roll-out of billboards on the nation's highways to help raise public awareness and promote a dialogue on the right to die. The first board appears in San Francisco, and others will follow in New Jersey and Florida. The message is simply, "My Life, My Death, My Choice," with the organization's contact information. Those who view the billboards are encouraged to be in touch with their local media and to share their feelings on the basic human right to a death with dignity.

    The boards are being paid for, in part, by member donations. Final Exit President Jerry Dincin said, "Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution toward future billboards is welcome to do so by earmarking a check for the Billboard Fund to the Final Exit Network."

    The Final Exit Network believes that mentally competent adults have a basic human right to end their lives when they suffer from a fatal or irreversible illness or intractable pain, when their quality of life is personally unacceptable, and the future holds only hopelessness and misery. Such a right shall be an individual choice, including the timing and companion, free of any restriction by the law, clergy, medical profession, even friends and relatives no matter how well-intentioned.

    The organization offers free service to all who apply, providing relevant information, home visits if possible and compassionate counseling for the individual and family. It further promotes the use of advanced directives and other legal instruments to document the intentions of any individual.

Source:

Gibson, Megan. "Roadside Controversy Looms With ‘Right to Die’ Billboards". TIME. 2010-Jun-16. <newsfeed.time.com/2010/06/16/roadside-controversy-looms-with-right-to-die-billboards/>. Time, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-1393, U.S.A.

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • Final Exit Network

  • U.S.A.

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201006169694.
Mailed: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 14:34:04 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

EuthaNEWSia mailing list

To subscribe send a message to:

euthanewsia-subscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the server only reads the From address on the message.

To unsubscribe send a message to:

euthanewsia-unsubscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the server only reads the From address on the message. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

On the Web:

Problems? Send an email to: editor@euthanewsia.ca