Terminally ill woman holds assisted suicide party

Posted by | August 12, 2016 09:10 | Filed under: Planet

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The California woman, dying of ALS, said no crying was allowed.

In early July, Betsy Davis emailed her closest friends and relatives to invite them to a two-day party, telling them: “These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness.”

And just one rule: No crying in front of her.

The 41-year-old artist with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, held the gathering to say goodbye before becoming one of the first Californians to take a lethal dose of drugs under the state’s new doctor-assisted suicide law for the terminally ill…

As the weekend drew to a close, her friends kissed her goodbye, gathered for a photo and left, and Davis was wheeled out to a canopy bed on a hillside, where she took a combination of morphine, pentobarbital and chloral hydrate prescribed by her doctor.

Kelly Davis said she loved her sister’s idea for the gathering.

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Copyright 2016 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

14 responses to Terminally ill woman holds assisted suicide party

  1. anothertoothpick August 12th, 2016 at 09:35

    As much as I love parties, I just don’t think I would have gone the this one.

    It takes all I got to go to a funeral and those poor folks are already dead.

    I cannot even eat something that still looks like it did when it was alive. If you flop a cooked dead fish on my dinner plate I am walking out.

    I always look at the poor lobsters in that tank at the grocery store and try to figure out a way to let them loose.

    Maybe I just have too much empathy.

    • TiredOldGuy August 12th, 2016 at 10:27

      I told my wife and girls that if they want to have any kind of memorial after I’m gone (body is going to the U. of Cincinnati body donor program) that it must include music from Jimi and Janis, Cajun and Italian food (my favorites), and a picture of me from when I was healthy. No tears (although I know that’s stretching it) and lots of smiles and good memories.
      That being said, I don’t think I would want a party before I go. I would be the one crying.

    • William August 12th, 2016 at 12:42

      There is no such thing as too much empathy. You have been given an extra measure to make up for so many who have none.

    • Suzanne McFly August 12th, 2016 at 12:55

      When I have known people who passed, I always wonder if I told them I love them. This way I would know I did, I would have to go. It isn’t about you, it is about her and you would have to put her before your pain.

      • anothertoothpick August 12th, 2016 at 13:50

        Well said Suzanne.

    • StoneyCurtisll August 12th, 2016 at 15:25

      maybe a little too much….:)

    • bpollen August 13th, 2016 at 06:15

      I would probably just send a card. A final visit I could handle, but I would much rather go to a wake than a “Have fun in Elysium” party…

  2. dogsRgoodpeople August 12th, 2016 at 10:42

    She’s doing it her way and to that I say good for her. Good for her friends that attended. I have relatives that wouldn’t attend due to Their religious beliefs.

  3. StoneyCurtisll August 12th, 2016 at 15:30

    If I knew I had a very limited time left to live, and given the option to end my life in a dignified manner and not rot away in pain in some hospital room or hospice…
    I would gladly choose the, hey lets get together one more time before I die party…
    And end my own life, on my own terms, and not be a burden on family of friends.

    • TiredOldGuy August 12th, 2016 at 15:45

      “Death with dignity” once “quality of life” has run out. Nice thought but it only applies if you live in a state with legalized assisted suicide.
      My doctor told me that if I end treatment and bring in hospice it could take up to 3 weeks. Morphine would stop my pain but wouldn’t do a damn thing for my family.

      • Gary Parillo August 12th, 2016 at 17:05

        My mother died with dementia three years ago.Prior to her death we had to put her into a dementia unit.She had no quailty of life the last few years of living.The toll it took on me cannot be conveyed in words.Assisted suicide needs to legalized everywhere.One reason it isnt is the money some make on the suffering of others.My condition is also worsening,but since i live in calif.it will viable option for me in the future.Why cling to a body that becomes a torture chamber? It is only sad for the few that love us.Death will come oneday for everyone.As zen masters have put it,”Our death is part of our life”.

        • TiredOldGuy August 12th, 2016 at 18:43

          So sorry Gary. My mother died in hospice care. We watched her waste away for almost 2 weeks.
          KY doesn’t have, nor do I have any hope of seeing in the 6 – 8 months I have left, legally assisted suicide.

          • Gary Parillo August 12th, 2016 at 20:01

            The best we can do is take one moment,not one day, but “one moment” at a time.Try to keep your mind busy.The net has been a good diversion for me,but there are days my energy is so low even typing is limited.Healthy younger people cant really understand what its like to be in constant pain,at least I didnt when i was young and healthy.You hang in there the best you can.

            • TiredOldGuy August 12th, 2016 at 20:18

              That’s why I continue to work 4 days a week. I’m tired in the evening but it’s usually a “good” tired. And when the blood level drops my boss tells me to go upstairs and take a nap. Pretty tired right now so I’ll probably lay down and go to sleep watching the Bengals.

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