advocate Archives - Maine Death with Dignity

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Death with Dignity: How I helped my Dad Die

Posted on January 28, 2021July 19, 2021 by Valerie Lovelace

This story is reposted in it's entirety from Bloomberg Business Week, where it was originally published by journalist Esmé Deprez, daughter of Maine resident Ron Deprez, on January 27, 2021. An additional link is also provided to a similar republication from January 28, 2021, by NDTV. Our deepestCONTINUE READING »

Making Peace with Life Through Death, Part 1: Preparing

Posted on July 19, 2020November 11, 2022 by Valerie Lovelace

Republished from Death with Dignity National Center. Maine resident Karen Wentworth is the second patient to access the Maine Death with Dignity Act, which went into effect in September 2019. In the first installment of this 3-part series, Karen reads from an essay she wrote after she obtainedCONTINUE READING »

Maine Patient on “Making the Call”

Posted on July 8, 2020July 13, 2020 by Valerie Lovelace

Karen Wentworth, a resident of South Portland, Maine, shares her experience as a terminally ill patient qualifying for the Maine Death with Dignity Act on "Making the Call," a medical ethics podcast. Joined by Peg Sandeen, PhD, Executive Director of Death with Dignity National Center, they discuss withCONTINUE READING »

From the Board

Posted on June 3, 2020June 6, 2020 by Valerie Lovelace

OUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we know as the "State of Maine" and "United States of America." We know they and their descendants suffered and continue to suffer in unimaginable ways at the hands of colonialism. We acknowledge that we live, work andCONTINUE READING »

Chris’s Story: Keeping A Promise

Posted on January 31, 2019July 19, 2021 by Valerie Lovelace

Chris Trider is a retired electrician in Leeds and a Maine Death with Dignity volunteer. He told the Death with Dignity National Center this story in January 2019. * My wife, Karen, passed away from liver cancer in October 2018. When doctors discovered the cancer several months earlier,CONTINUE READING »

Donna Wiegle: “The Choice About How Things Go”

Posted on July 9, 2018July 19, 2021 by Valerie Lovelace

Donna Wiegle is the founder of Eldercare Outreach of Swan's Island. She lives in Swan's Island. She told us this story, which first appeared at Death with Dignity National Center's website, in June 2018. * I survived my first bout with cancer nearly 30 years ago. Then, inCONTINUE READING »

Eva Thompson (1959-2017): “It should be my choice”

Posted on December 29, 2017June 7, 2023 by Valerie Lovelace

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death today of Reverend Eva Thompson, a steadfast advocate for Death with Dignity legislation in Maine. She was 58 years old. Eva did not live long enough to see the Maine Death with Dignity Act come to fruition. During herCONTINUE READING »

Rebecca Van Wormer (1974-2017): “I want the option to go on my terms”

Posted on October 15, 2017June 7, 2023 by Valerie Lovelace

A resident of East Millinocket, Maine, Rebecca VanWormer told us her story in August 2015. She died in January 2017 . * I’m 43 years old and I’m dying of cancer. My goal is to live as long as I can but when I get to the pointCONTINUE READING »