Facebook posts and livestreams by Fu Ta-Jen and Fu Chun-Hao
Fu Ta-Jen, Fu Chun-Hao
Taiwanese broadcaster Fu Ta-Jen, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, chose to have a physician-assisted death in Switzerland on June 7, 2018, with witnesses present. While there is no existing law regarding assisted dying in Taiwan, his decision sparked societal debate on the right to die, largely fueled by his continuous advocacy on Facebook.
'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.
'Mala carne' by Sofía Almiroty
Sofía Almiroty
In Sofía Almiroty’s debut novel, Ariana takes her grandmother Rosa, whose skin is ravaged by a rare cancer, to say goodbye to the town where Rosa grew up; they hope to have enough morphine to keep the pain at bay. Set in Argentina, the novel was published in Spain, where assisted dying has been legal since 2021 – as opposed to Argentina, where it remains a crime.
'O último abraço' by Vitor Hugo Brandalise
Vitor Hugo Brandalise
In 2014, 74-year-old Nelson Golla complied with his wife Neusa’s request to die; Neusa was 72 and being fed through a nasogastric tube at a nursing home. Nelson hugged his wife and placed a homemade bomb between them, which killed Neusa and hurt him. The case is reconstructed by Vitor Hugo Brandalise in this book-length investigation, which fomented a debate about old age and euthanasia in Brazil.
'Tanner geht' by Wolfgang Prosinger
Wolfgang Prosinger
51-year-old Ulrich Tanner, who lived in Cologne, suffered from various incurable diseases and took his own life in Switzerland with the help of the organisation Dignitas. Journalist Wolfgang Prosinger accompanied and interviewed Tanner in his last months and wrote a book about his life and his decision to commit assisted suicide.
'Ana' photographs by Jessica Alva Piedra
Jessica Alva Piedra
Between 2019 and 2020, the Peruvian photographer Jessica Alva Piedra collaborated with the psychologist Ana Estrada to portray Estrada’s life with polymyositis and in palliative care. The resulting photos, a testimony to Estrada’s agency to represent her own body while advocating for the right to die, appeared in Estrada’s blog, in a photobook, and in media outlets around the world.
'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.
'Griefwalker' by Tim Wilson
Tim Wilson
Griefwalker profiles Stephen Jenkinson as he leads a palliative care counselling team at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. The film is a meditation on grief, the fear of death, and the failure of palliative care to address this fear as patients near death.
End of Life Stories Workshop at McGill International Palliative Care Congress
Using end-of-life stories in films and photographs, this workshop shed light on the relationship between palliative care and assisted dying. It began with short presentations using material from Switzerland, France, California, and Québec. The second part of the workshop was a discussion of how patient stories complicate the assisted dying-palliative care relationship in Canada and abroad.