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| This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2011) |
| Founded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Type | Right-to-die, assisted suicide |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California; Los Angeles, California; Eugene, Oregon; combined Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado |
| Location |
|
Membership | 46,000[1] |
Key people | Derek Humphry, Ann Wickett Humphry, Gerald A. Larue, Faye Girsh |
| Website | www |
The Hemlock Society (sometimes called Hemlock Society USA) was an American right-to-die and assisted suicide advocacy organization which existed from 1980 to 2003, which took its name from the hemlock plant Conium maculatum, a highly poisonous herb in the carrot family, as a direct reference to the method by which the Athenian philosopher Socrates took his life in 399 BC, as described in Plato's Phaedo.[2][unreliable source?]
It was co-founded in Santa Monica, California by British author and activist Derek Humphry, his wife Ann Wickett Humphry and Gerald A. Larue.[citation needed] It relocated to Oregon in 1988 and, according to Humphry, had several homes over the course of its life.[2][unreliable source?]
The Hemlock Society's primary mission included providing information to the dying and supporting legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide. Its motto was "Good Life, Good Death".[3]
In 2003, the national organization renamed itself End of Life Choices. In 2004, some former members of the Hemlock Society, notably Derek Humphry and Faye Girsh, founded the Final Exit Network,[4][self-published source] after Humphry's 1991 book of the same name.[5] In 2004, End-of-Life Choices merged with Compassion in Dying, which is now known as Compassion & Choices.[6][unreliable source?] Several local and state organizations, including the Hemlock Society of Florida[7] and the Hemlock Society of San Diego,[8] have retained the Hemlock Society name. Others, such as the Hemlock Society of Illinois (now Final Options Illinois[9]), have changed their names.[better source needed]
- ^ Gabriel, Trip (8 December 1991). "A Fight to the Death". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Humphry, Derek (21 February 2005). "Farewell to Hemlock – Killed by its Name". Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization (ERGO). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ Duckett, Jodi (23 September 1991). "Final Choices Hemlock Society Backerts Believe in the Right to a Good Death". themorningcall.com.
- ^ "The Hemlock Society I Compassion & Choices I Final Exit Network". www.finalexitnetwork.org. Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ^ "Final Exit, 3rd Edition v.3.1 (paperback)". www.finalexit.org.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Patients Rights Council (2013). "Facts about Hemlock and Caring Friends". Patients Rights Council. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ http://www.hemlockflorida.org/index.htm
- ^ "Hemlock Society of San Diego – Good Life, Good Death".
- ^ "Final Options Illinois – Home – Information on Aid In Dying". Final Options Illinois.