Justine D. lives in New York, where Death with Dignity is not yet legal. She continues to advocate for medical aid in dying by sharing her mom, Joyce’s, story, who died in 2022 without the option of accessing Death with Dignity.
Imagine being told you have just weeks to live—on the very day you’re diagnosed with end-stage liver cancer.
That was the nightmare my mother, Joyce, faced in 2022. She went in for what we thought would be a routine check-up. Instead, doctors told us she had advanced liver cancer—Hepatocellular carcinoma—with a dire prognosis.
At 74, my mom was the heartbeat of our family. She radiated joy, vibrancy, and was so full of love. But her decline was swift and cruel, and it left us helpless.
Despite the best efforts of hospice care, my mom endured unbearable physical pain and emotional terror. Watching her struggle to breathe in those final days haunts me. She begged us to help her end her suffering, not out of fear of death, but fear of the agony she knew was coming.
But in New York, there is no medical aid in dying law that would have allowed her to die on her own terms, peacefully and with dignity.
She died three weeks to the day after learning of her terminal illness, just shy of her 75th birthday. Instead of planning an epic celebration, we instead planned a funeral.
Why I Advocate: Turning Grief into Hope
My mom did not have the option to choose Death with Dignity in New York, and that is a tragedy. But this year, I have hope. For the first time, the New York Assembly has passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act. Now, it’s time for the Senate to act. This isn’t about politics. It’s about humanity. It’s about love. It’s about giving people like my mom—like all of us—the ability to choose how we say goodbye.
Death with Dignity: The Gift of Control
No one should have to suffer like my mom did. No family should have to stand by, helpless, watching the person they love most fade away in fear and pain.
Death with Dignity laws offer mercy. They offer control. They offer peace. And they could have offered my mom the relief she so desperately needed.
If my mom had been given the option to choose Death with Dignity, her final days could have been different—more peaceful and reflective of the vibrant, loving life she lived. She deserved that choice.
My mother lived with dignity. She should have been allowed to die with it, too.
Join the Fight in Passing Death with Dignity NOW
I can’t bring my mom back. And, I can’t change the memories I have of her suffering in her final days. But, I will continue to honor her the best way I know how: by fighting to pass Death with Dignity in New York, in hopes that no more families have to go through what we did.
Please, join me now in demanding Death with Dignity everyone who needs it by taking our pledge today. No one should be forced to suffer at the end of life. And, no family should be forced to watch helplessly. Let’s give our dying loved ones the final choice they deserve.
