In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands. In How to Die in Oregon, filmmaker Peter Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether – and when – to end their lives by lethal overdose. Richardson examines both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.
Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced the Death with Dignity Act of 2015, based upon the model in Oregon, to authorize aid in dying for terminally-ill people in the District of Columbia.
Councilmember Cheh will be available to answer questions from the community at the screening and encourages residents to testify at the July 10th hearing on the bill.
Free and open to all!
