Opinion: Medical aid in dying was a blessing for my husband. But a federal law makes it inaccessible for millions of Americans

In an Opinion piece submitted to CNN, Ginger Fairchild explains the end-of-life treatment her husband received  after enduring nearly a decade of chemotherapy, radiation, hospitalizations and surgeries in connection to his skin cancer diagnoses, which subsequently spread to his brain, bones and lymph nodes.

Her husband chose medical aid in dying, which is available to the terminally ill and mentally capable patients in 10 states and Washington D.C. Those who choose this route self-ingest a prescribed medication to die peacefully. 

According to a 2020 Gallup poll, Americans broadly support this idea, however, many equate the process with physician-assisted suicide, suicide, or euthanasia. These are terms that Fairchild finds disturbing. Euthanasia for example is an act by another individual, not a choice made by the person dying. Additionally, terminally ill patients who seek this treatment aren’t suicidal. 

Many private insurance companies and state-funded Medicaid plans cover the substantial cost of medical aid in dying. But for Americans who depend on federally funded insurance and facilities, this option is inaccessible. This is largely due to a 1997 law, Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act (ASFRA) which served as a preemptive strike against Oregon’s  medical aid-in-dying law, which was the first of its kind in the U.S.

For more information see Ginger Fairchild “Opinion: Medical aid in dying was a blessing for my husband. But a federal law makes it inaccessible for millions of Americans” CNN, September 3, 2022.