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News

Medical Aid in Dying (MAID): Issues and Perspectives

Mary Ganapol | Published on 9/5/2021
The one thing people want and need at the end of life is choice and dignity. Kicking off the 2021/2022 season of the LWVGT Voter Education Programs is a topic that is often confusing and misunderstood: Medical aid in dying (MAID), sometimes also referred to as death with dignity.

In ten states (plus Washington D.C) this is a legal end-of-life choice but not in Arizona. Some see this as an issue of patient autonomy, a private decision between the dying patient, their family, and their family doctor. Perhaps it’s time to start a discussion about making this option available to Arizonans. Join us for this thought-provoking program.

WHEN: Saturday, September 18, 2021 – 10:00-11:30 a.m.

WHERE: To view the program click link: https://bit.ly/3go5Eu1. The Passcode is 117693.
Or watch the livestream at https://bit.ly/3y90gkf.

Mary Ganapol, moderator.

PANELISTS:


Champaign


Margot Champagne,
a longtime member of the LWV, practiced law in Washington, DC for 30 years and now resides in Phoenix working as an attorney part time. She will talk about the history of the grassroots right-to-die movement in Arizona, including The Million Geezer Marches on the Capitol and writing the LWVAZ White Paper of 2013 on MAID.


Lovelace



Val Lovelace,
the founder and Executive Director of Maine Death with Dignity, formerly It’s My Death, led the grassroots coalition that led to the success of MAID passing in Maine in 2019. She will explain the details of the law, qualifications and safeguards, the myths, the language and the status of the 50-state campaign led by Death with Dignity National Center.



Armstrong



Rep. Deborah Armstrong,
a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2012, sponsored the MAID bill that passed in June 2021. She serves as a senior advisor to End of Life Options New Mexico. She will cover the coalition that worked for ten years to pass the law, the power of storytelling, and educating voters and lawmakers alike.





Monsignor Jeremiah McCarthy
, on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, is a renowned moral theologian currently teaching graduate classes at Oblate School of Theology in Texas. He will discuss the Diocese’s stand on end-of-life issues, medical ethics and the moral dilemmas faced by terminally ill Catholics.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.