Shocking Case of Alleged Assisted Suicide

A recent ruling issued by arural Pennsylvania court could impact millions of Baby Boomers caring for dyingparents. 

A Schuylkill Countymagistrate has ordered Barbara Mancini, 57, to stand trial for assisting thesuicide of her terminally ill father, Joe Yourshaw.  Mancini’s crime is allegedly handing herfather his prescribed morphine.

Yourshaw had previouslytaken measures to ensure he could die peacefully.  But despite his advance directive to refrainfrom intrusive medical intervention and Barbara’s instruction as his medicalsurrogate to do the same, EMTs took the 93-year-old father to the hospitalafter a hospice nurse called 911.  AfterJoe was revived, he was furious he had been removed from his home and that hisdaughter had been arrested.  Instead ofdying peacefully at home as he wished, Joe died four days later in the hospital,knowing his daughter was in dire legal trouble.

See GwenFitzgerald, Boomers Beware when Caringfor Dying Parents, USA Today, Aug. 20, 2013.

Special thanks to LauraGalvan (Attorney, San Antonio, Texas) for bringing this article to myattention.