Press Release
True Compassion Advocates
Offering life affirming care, hope, & support
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
PRESS ADVISORY: John Peyton, anti-assisted suicide leader and spokesperson dies naturally of ALS in on same day as state's first death by assisted suicide. True Compassion Advocates calls Linda Fleming's death a "tragedy which heightens fear and increases misinformation about living and dying."
John Peyton dies of ALS on Thursday, May 21st.
"In stark contrast, Washington State resident and assisted suicide opponent John Peyton, who was featured in ads and on TV opposing Initiative 1000, died naturally and comfortably at home of ALS the same day Linda Fleming became the first victim of assisted suicide in Washington State," Eileen Geller, president of True Compassion Advocates, reported today. "Just days before his death, John expressed continued concern about the legalization of assisted suicide in Washington, stating he felt It victimized people with terminal illnesses and "exploited their fears," she added.
"Speaking clearly and with passion, even as his life and breath waned, John expressed solidarity with all those experiencing life-limiting illnesses and stated his single worry that people with disabilities, those in difficult financial circumstances and without adequate caregiving support would feel pressure to take a lethal drug overdose," the Hospice nurse and long-time leader of the opposition to physician assisted suicide stated.
Just before he passed away John said "I am blessed with a loving wife and family and wonderful caregivers. I worry that people who don't have the same support will feel pressure to choose assisted suicide," Ms. Geller reported, adding "John Peyton was a hero in life and in death. He showed us how to live with real dignity and die naturally and comfortably. He literally gave his last breaths to advocate for those at risk for assisted suicide. John Peyton demonstrates what I have seen in thousands of dying patients over 25 years working as a hospice nurse -- that no one needs to die in pain or uncomfortably and that people with life limiting illnesses need competent, supportive care, not lethal drugs."
Geller, long-time leader of opposition to physician assisted suicide, offered condolences to the families of both Peyton and Fleming. She contrasted Peyton's death with that of Ms. Fleming's: "Tragically, on the very same day John Peyton died, Linda Fleming of Sequim became the first person in our state to die from assisted suicide via lethal drug overdose. Ms. Fleming's death gives witness to Mr. Peyton's concern for the disabled and the poor being at particular risk for assisted suicide." (According to the New York Times, 5/23/09, Ms. Fleming was divorced and filed for bankruptcy in 2007. The Times quoted her lawyer, Hugh Haffner, as saying Ms. Fleming "had been unable to work because of a disability and lived in subsidized housing on $643 monthly disability checks.")
Geller also expressed concern that the extensive media coverage surrounding Ms. Fleming's death by assisted suicide may have inadvertently sent the wrong message to people with life-limiting illness and their families -- the message that assisted suicide, rather than good medical care and improved community support, is the solution to end-stage illness or disability. "Nothing could be further from the truth," said Geller. "As a caregiver to two close family members who died naturally and comfortably from pancreatic cancer and hospice nurse to many people with pancreatic or other cancers, I am deeply concerned that vulnerable ill people's fears not be exploited. Excellent comfort care, pain control, symptom management, and support are available through hospice and palliative care."
Geller concluded: "Assisted suicide is a tragedy which heightens fear and increases misinformation about living and dying. We need to advocate for truly compassionate care, not false and misleading choices."
For further information, contact Eileen Geller, RN, BSN. Phone: 206-366-2715.
Eileen@truecompassionadvocates.org