A terminally ill Missouri woman has publicly announced her plans to travel to Switzerland to end her own life through assisted suicide.
Gayle Hendrix, 79, told local news station KFVS 12 that she is choosing assisted suicide because she wants control over her death. Though her condition is considered terminal, her death is not imminent — a stipulation typically required for assisted death approval. Hendrix said she doesn’t want to wait until doctors believe her death is that close. “I don’t want to wait that long,” she said. “I don’t want to get that sick.”
“I don’t want to get to the point of, ‘This is existing, not living. I’ve had a great life, and I want to have some dignity when I’m going to the next phase,” she explained. “My friends will say, ‘But you don’t look or sound or act like somebody who is near death.’ But I am dying, and that’s what I want to control.”
“My life, my body, my death,” she said.
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Hendrix’s remarks reflect a tragic worldview that has dominated the assisted suicide narrative — that a person’s life is only valuable and worth living if they are healthy. This narrative has led many people, especially those who are elderly or ill, to feel that they should choose assisted suicide.
Statistics have found that the majority of people choose assisted death because, like Hendrix, they fear losing autonomy. Other research shows that people fear being a burden on their loved ones. Many are led to believe that assisted suicide is painless, easy, and something they can control, but the opposite is true; reports show that the process is often not peaceful — because the person can drown to death while paralyzed.
Those who are ill or suffering should not succumb to despair and the belief that death is the only option. Palliative care is available for anyone dealing with a serious health condition, and it helps to improve the person’s quality of life.