Medical aid in dying

LAST FLIGHT HOME would not have been possible if not for the California End of Life Option Act (ELOA), which allows terminally-ill individuals of sound mind to end their own life humanely with medical assistance. After 40 years of living as a hemiplegic, Eli Timoner was rendered physically unable to care for himself or stay home. He pleaded with his family to help him die. That's when with the help of End of Life Choices California, we discovered Eli was eligible to use the California ELOA and could die with dignity at home surrounded by family.

Eli was able to come home on hospice care and begin the mandatory 15 day waiting period between his first and second request for medical aid in dying from his doctor. His spirits were so lifted  to be able to have such agency and control over his own body for the first time in 40 years. Finally regaining his bodily autonomy provided immense relief and peace, and gave his family and friends an opportunity to send him off with love and gain closure themselves. 

At the time of Eli’s death, March 2021, the law required a lengthy 15-day waiting period. Thanks to advocacy efforts to improve the California ELOA, in 2022 the waiting period was reduced to 2 days, and we’re honored that our film is a part of this important conversation. Medical Aid in Dying is legal in only 10 states in the U.S., and we urge you, our viewers, to join the conversation and promote legislation in the other 40 states to legalize medical aid in dying in order to support universal access to death with dignity. 

The states where Medical Aid in Dying is legal are: Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Montana, California, and the District of Columbia.

To learn more about the California End of Life Option Act, call End of Life Choices California at (760) 636 8009 or visit their site.

Click here for more resources and a list of state-specific organizations which are helping the terminally-ill navigate the process in those states that do have a law to access medical aid in dying and achieve death with dignity.

Take action: There are many ways to advocate for death with dignity and make your voice count.  Write your elected officials and click here to connect with leading organizations hard at work lobbying and campaigning to protect existing laws and to pass new laws in other states.