In 1994, Mary Bowen Hall, nearing death from breast cancer, took medications to die — alone, in hiding, with no medical support. Her struggle was documented by physician/photojournalist Lonny Shavelson, printed across two pages in the NY Times as the Supreme Court, in 1997, heard arguments about legalizing medical aid in dying (then called physician-assisted suicide).

The court unanimously decided that while aid in dying was not a national right, individual states could legalize it. Today, 10 states plus Washington, D.C., permit medical aid in dying. Multiple other state legislatures have aid-in-dying laws in progress.
1994: Mary Bowen Hall suffered until near death. She then swallowed a stash of medications and died, alone, with no medical aid.
2024: Pat Thaler took prescribed medications to die, at home, openly accompanied by her physician and family — guided by the best-practice principles of the Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine.

The Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine is the only national organization focused on establishing and teaching best clinical practices for expert, attentive care of patients considering or completing medical aid in dying.
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