'By the Time Your Read This, I’ll Be Dead' by John Hofsess
John Hofsess
In this article, right to die activist John Hofsess reveals that he illegally helped eight people kill themselves from 1999 to 2001, including the Canadian poet Al Purdy. Hofsess portrays himself in a positive light, as a hero of the assisted suicide cause, but a 2022 article by journalist Sandra Martin casts doubt on both his character and motivations.
'Je ne suis pas un assassin' by Frédéric Chaussoy
Frédéric Chaussoy
Dr Frédéric Chaussoy, the intensivist who made the decision to turn off Vincent Humbert’s life support machine, shares his story in this short, powerful text. Blending a first-person account of the events leading up to Vincent’s death with engaged writing and insights from Chaussoy’s family, the text is an ardent defence of the doctor’s actions and calls France to do better at accompanying death.
'Je vous demande le droit de mourir' by Vincent Humbert
Vincent Humbert (with Frédéric Veille)
Following a life-changing accident, which left Vincent Humbert paraplegic, blind and mute, the young man decided that he wanted to end his life and wrote to the French President in search of help. This text is his story, one of the most significant in the history of the assisted dying debate in France.
'Le tout dernier été' by Anne Bert
Anne Bert
French author Anne Bert sees the right to choose her own time of death as a fundamental human right, and this is her story of invoking that right by travelling from France to Belgium to receive an assisted death.
'A Message to the Standing Committee on Justice and Solicitor General' by Sue Rodriguez
Sue Rodriguez
In this videotaped address to Parliament, Sue Rodriguez, who was dying of ALS and wanted an assisted death, asks ‘If I cannot give consent to my own death […] who owns my life?’ While the Supreme Court of Canada heard her case in 1993 and ultimately decided against her, the publicization of Rodriguez’s story informed much public thinking about assisted dying laws in Canada.
'Better Off Dead?' by Liz Carr and James Routh
Liz Carr (writer/presenter), James Routh (director)
This BBC documentary follows actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr as she explores reasons why assisted dying, which she calls assisted suicide, should not be legalised in the UK. It is unusual both for constituting a mainstream programme that openly opposes legalisation of assisted dying, and for doing so using humour.
'Fade to Black' by Jeremy Ervine
Jeremy Ervine (dir.)
After learning that his oesophageal cancer has spread to his lungs, petrol station chain CEO Peter Short becomes the face of an Australian Senate assisted dying bill. This crowd-funded documentary recounts his political campaign, and his (unassisted) death, featuring interviews from Short’s family alongside ones from politicians and activists from both sides of the Australian right-to-die debate.
Forthcoming 'Better Off Dead?'
Liz Carr (writer/presenter), James Routh (director)
This BBC documentary follows actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr as she explores reasons why assisted dying, which she calls assisted suicide, should not be legalised in the UK. It is unusual both for constituting a mainstream programme that openly opposes legalisation of assisted dying, and for doing so using humour.
Forthcoming 'Last Cab to Darwin'
Jeremy Sims (director and writer), Reg Cribb (writer)
Loosely based on real events in the mid-1990s during a brief period when voluntary assisted dying was legal in Australia’s Northern Territory, this fiction film follows terminally ill taxi driver Rex as he drives 3,000km north to Darwin to try to become the first person in the world to die using an assisted dying machine.
Forthcoming 'Miele'
Valeria Golino (Director), Valia Santella (Writer)
In Valeria Golino’s ‘Miele’, Irene illegally assists in the deaths of terminally ill individuals. Her understanding of her work is challenged, however, when she meets Carlo who wishes to die but is physically healthy. The film is more interested in Irene’s internal conflict than in advancing a position for or against assisted dying, yet it nonetheless explores various opinions and experiences.
'Mar adentro' by Alejandro Amenábar
Alejandro Amenábar (director and writer), Mateo Gil (writer)
For almost thirty years, Ramón Sampedro has been paralysed from the neck down. Having had enough of his paraplegic state, Ramón decides that he wants to die and seeks the help of an assisted dying lobby group to generate support for his case. When all legal avenues fail, a small group of his friends help Ramón to end his life.
'You Don't Know Jack' by Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson (director), Adam Mazer (writer)
‘You Don’t Know Jack’ recounts the period in Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s life between 1990 when he assisted in the death of Janet Adkins and 1998 when, after assisting in over 100 deaths, he was convicted of second-degree murder for assisting in the death of Thomas Youk. The film portrays the controversial Kevorkian in a very flattering light, as an underdog and hero, and, above all, a caring doctor.