by Faye Girsh

About the author: Faye Girsh is the executive director of the Hemlock Society USA. This viewpoint is the text of a speech presented by Girsh before the American Atheists' St. Louis conference on January 26, 1999.

Since 1980, the Hemlock Society has argued that physician-assisted dying should be one option in the continuum of care at the end of life. Most people in this country agree. Polls repeatedly show that at least two thirds of the population support this choice, including a majority of Catholics. And not only is the sentiment in this country supportive of assisted dying, but more than 70% of the population in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and in Europe want this option. Where the population is predominantly Catholic—such as in Quebec, Spain, and France—the support is...