Death with Dignity

The right of the terminally ill to choose agency over their own death I believe is a fundamental human right. The fear and the worry of experiencing protracted and intolerable pain in one's final days is unnecessary when we know there are humane options. It is what my wife, Mary Klein, fought for in passage of the Death with Dignity Act in the District of Columbia in 2016, and it is how she died, peacefully at home in my arms. She fought to give the choice to the terminally ill who wish to exercise it. Today, 11 jurisdictions in the United States permit medical aid in dying for the terminally ill and 18 states in 2025 are considering legislation, an option that surveys consistently show two-thirds of Americans favor.

I have written a memoir about Mary and my experience, and the video below shows the challenges Mary faced in her campaign.