Free Movie at Unitarian Universalist Church, Meriden

Please join Reverend Jan Carlsson-Bull and me for a free screening of the Sundance Film Festival Award Winning film “How to Die in Oregon” at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Meriden 328 Paddock Avenue, Meriden, CT on Saturday, October, 26th from 3 pm to 5pm.
 
Like most reading this, I have been at bedside for many loved ones at end of life, including my father and two sisters, and I would like to share with you the last hours of my oldest sister, Janice, dying in 2010 with the understanding that she would not be hooked up to machines, to keep her alive without hope of recovery.
 
Her husband told the doctor, in the presence of her children, and me, that she did not want to have a tracheotomy.  The doctor inexplicably would not take his word for it and stopped her pain medication so she could wake up so he could ask my dying sister directly.
 
She could only shake her head, “No.”
 
The doctor told me he was trained to keep people alive, not to let them die. Thankfully, he finally honored her wishes and she died without more meaningless abuse.
 
Wonderful and long overdue strides on important issues of social justice have been made during my lifetime, protecting and codifying the rights of many, many Americans.  But there is still much to do, and the time is now for aid in dying.
 
Those dying in horrible pain ought to be able to die with dignity, and that is why I am fighting for passage of laws here in Connecticut similar to those in Oregon and what makes “How to Die in Oregon” relevant.
 
What resonates most about this film is the life affirming, powerful message about death with dignity and how it is utilized in Oregon, and perhaps even one day I hope, here in Connecticut as well. 
 
I hope you join us for this thought provoking film and a conversation afterward.