June 23, 2022
DREDF applauds the June 22, 2022, decision by federal district court Judge Vince Chhabria to dismiss the complaint in Shavelson v. California Department of Health Care Services, a case that seeks to eliminate the self-administration requirement of California's End of Life Options Act (EOLA). [...]
April 14, 2022
Assisted suicide doesn't exist in a vacuum. It must be considered against the backdrop of the United States' tragic history of state-sanctioned discrimination against people with disabilities and chronic illnesses in health care settings. This sordid history includes nonconsensual experimentation, forced sterilization, the denial of essential medical care based on biased and/or inaccurate quality of their life assessments, issuing of "Do Not Resuscitate" orders without patient consent, and most recently, employing COVID crisis standards of care and health care rationing systems that explicitly, openly devalue disabled lives. [...]
October 7, 2021
On Tuesday, October 5, Governor Newsom signed SB-380 – which shortens the wait time for receiving lethal assisted suicide medication to 48 hours – into law without comment. Previously the period between making two separate requests to take the deadly drugs had been 15 days. The law, which was originally set to expire in 2026, was also extended for five additional years. [...]
June 11, 2016
DREDF is pleased to announce, along with our coalition partners in Californians Against Assisted Suicide, that this week, the national organization Patients Rights Action Fund will launch a new web page where concerned individuals, family members, and friends can bring to light abuses, problems, and complications associated with assisted suicide laws.
September 23, 2015
The webinar covered the consumer protections provided under the CCI. The webinar also provided a detailed summary of what benefits will be provided by Cal MediConnect plans and a review of what long term services and supports are being integrated into managed care.
June 23, 2014
In April, the first-ever Disability Rights Leadership Institute on Bioethics (DRLIB for short) brought together around 65 disability rights advocates to learn about and discuss issues as diverse as withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment based on disability status, the legalization of assisted suicide and the threat it poses to both the disability community and the public at large, the issues posed by new reproductive technologies, and so-called "wrongful birth / wrongful life" lawsuits.
March 30, 2014
A groundbreaking event for disability rights advocates to advance the disability rights perspective on bioethics issues. April 25 and 26, 2014
July 9, 2007
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) acknowledged DREDF's Marilyn Golden for her leadership in opposing assisted suicide bills in the California legislature. NCIL awarded Ms. Golden the NCIL Region IX Advocacy Award for her dedication to promoting the rights of people with disabilities and advancing the Independent Living movement.
February 13, 2005
The Oscar-winning movie Million Dollar Baby advances the offensive and dangerous message that death is preferable to life with a disability.