an incurably ill Missouri Woman She plans to travel to Switzerland to commit suicide with medical assistance while she is still physically able to travel.
Gail Hendricks, a 79-year-old mother of two from Cape Girardeau, was diagnosed with lupus and interstitial lung disease four years ago, and says her lung capacity has continued to deteriorate.
“I’ve had a very good life, and when I go to the next stage, I want to live with some dignity,” she said. 12 KFVS,
He said that after his diagnosis, his breathing problems worsened and he began to have heavy breathing problems, even on flat surfaces.
Physically fit Dutch woman dies of assisted suicide at 29
On February 1, 2024, a doctor prepares a syringe with a barbiturate called “thiopental”, which is used in the practice of euthanasia, at a Belgian hospital. (Getty Images)
She said, “My friends would say, ‘But you don’t look, speak or act like someone who is close to death.’ But I am dying and that’s what I want to control.”
Hendrix added, “I don’t want to get to the point that, ‘This is existing, not living.'”
Hendrix has to use an oxygen machine and can only walk short distances.
Prior to her diagnosis she lived an active lifestyle that included traveling a lot for work, hiking, and cycling.
“She was always busy, always … she always had either three jobs or she was going somewhere, like to concerts or festivals,” her daughter Charlene Foeste told the news station.
Hendrix, who is originally from North Carolina, is now retired after a career in human resources. She also lived in other locations during her career before returning to Missouri.
“I would love to say that I was a poet, a painter and a musician … I have no equal in that field,” Hendrix said with a laugh. “So, I guess that’s why I started walking because I can walk. I was an avid hiker, three to five miles a day … every day until about three years ago.”
After her retirement, Hendricks got bored and went back to work as a contact tracer during the pandemic. She recently retired again, as she prepares for her next chapter.
“It’s going to be tough, but I know that, and I also know what to expect and what the end result will be,” Foeste said.
Hendrix and Foeste will board a plane this week to Switzerland, where Hendrix will end her life by suicide on September 26.
“When I started seeing more of a drop off like every month, I could tell this was not as good as the previous month. That’s when I knew if I wanted to do this while I was still able to walk and travel, I had to do it soon,” Hendrix said.
physician assisted death It is legal in ten U.S. states and Washington, D.C. All but two of these places have residency requirements, the exceptions being Vermont and Oregon.
A disability campaigner from the group Dignity in Dying holds a placard during a demonstration in central London on April 29, 2024. The demonstration is being held in support of proposals to legalise assisted suicide in the UK. (Getty Images)
But Hendrix has decided to end his life in another country because, among other rules and regulations, assisted suicide requires the patient to have six months or less left to live, where it is legal in the US.
“I don’t want to wait that long. I don’t want to get that sick,” Hendrix said.
Even before his diagnosis, Hendricks had spent decades advocating for the right to assisted suicide, including joining groups like Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit that works to increase access to so-called death with dignity.
She had completed the paperwork for her assisted death last spring and was planning to make it happen. Trip to Switzerland in August, but she had to push back her deadline due to a shortage of spaces available for the procedure during that time.
“They put an IV in your arm and the first drug that goes in puts you to sleep and the second drug stops all body functions,” Hendrix said. “They have some sort of button on the IV, you have to press that button and it starts the fluids. In five minutes it’s done.”
When his life comes to an end, he will be cremated and his remains will be returned to Missouri in a few weeks.
Hendricks said she isn’t nervous about the trip, but she recognizes the impact her death will have on her family.
“It’s a huge loss, a huge loss for us,” Foeste said. “It’s not going to be the same. It just isn’t.”
Hendricks said she has had difficult conversations with friends and family members who do not support her decision to end her life through assisted suicide, some of whom believe what she is doing is morally wrong.
“Some of them are religious and have certain views, but I think because I’ve been open about it with people for so long, they’re not surprised,” Hendricks said.
His daughter is one of those who does not support his decision to end his life.
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Campaigners from the organisation Dignity in Dying rally in support of the right to assisted dying while Members of Parliament debate Commons proposals to change the law on assisted dying on April 29, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)
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“I can’t say I agree with her decision, I don’t,” Foeste said. “But, it’s not my choice. I love her and support her and there’s no way my mom can do this alone, absolutely not.”
“I love her and support her 100% no matter what,” Foeste said. “She knows that, my kids know that, and I just wish more people were like that too.”
Hendrix said she knows she will likely miss out on a greater quality of life, but she doesn’t want to risk ending up in a hospital bed.
“I am at peace with my decision and it is what is right for me and my body,” Hendricks said.
